Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee

Meeting date: Thursday, June 18, 2020

Official Report 592KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020 (Ticket Touting Offence) (Exceptions for Use of Internet etc) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 [Draft]

 

Temporary loss of sound.

I welcome Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture; Lucy Carmichael, bill team leader; and Ninian Christie, solicitor with the Scottish Government. The cabinet secretary will make a brief opening statement, after which we will move to questions. If any member wishes to ask a question, they should type “R” in the chat box, and I will bring them in.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee.

As members may recall, the committee was due to meet on 26 March to consider the ticket touting regulations that were to be associated with the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020. However, the regulations were withdrawn following the announcement by the Union of European Football Associations on 17 March that, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the championship would be postponed until June and July 2021. Since then, event partners in Scotland have worked together to complete the process of reconfirming Glasgow’s host city status for 2021. Yesterday, following an executive committee meeting, UEFA announced that all twelve cities have re-committed to hosting.

In light of the rescheduling of the championship, my letter of 11 May to the committee set out details of the primary legislation that was required to amend the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020, which will ultimately ensure appropriate commercial rights protection for UEFA and its sponsors, in order to meet the requirements for hosting matches in Glasgow.

The Coronavirus (No 2) (Scotland) Act 2020 has subsequently allowed for the necessary amendments to be made. It changed the dates of the championship period, the definition of “championship”, and the repeal date. It also corrected a European convention on human rights compliance issue, by creating an exception to the ticket touting offence for auctions of match tickets from which proceeds are given to charity. As the committee is aware, work to correct that issue had been under way earlier this year, in the form of a remedial order, but that too was disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak and the postponement of the championship to 2021.

UEFA has announced that tickets that it has already sold will remain valid for the rescheduled event. For that reason, we felt that it was particularly urgent to make the changes through the coronavirus legislation, in order to be able to bring the ticket touting offence into force as swiftly as possible.

The ticket touting regulations, which were laid on 1 June, are consistent with the illustrative regulations that were shared with the committee in October 2019; there are only minor changes, to improve consistency or clarity. The regulations are also consistent with those which were prepared under the Glasgow Commonwealth Games Act 2008.

Subject to Parliamentary approval, the regulations specify circumstances in which the act of making facilities available in connection with electronic communications or the storage of data is, or is not, capable of constituting the touting offence. In particular, the regulations set out that providing mere conduit, caching or hosting mechanisms, which are used by internet providers for online services and the temporary display and storage of information, will not constitute the offence.

The regulations also set out conditions that must be met before enforcement action can be taken against a person who is based in another European Economic Area state and who provides internet-type services.

Scottish Government officials have worked closely with event partners on the proposals for the regulations, and we are determined to support fair access to tickets so that as many fans as possible can enjoy the matches as part of the championship.

Demand for tickets, both in Glasgow and in other host cities, is expected to exceed the number of tickets that will be available. It is anticipated that prohibiting the touting of match tickets will act as a deterrent to touts who would seek to profit, potentially significantly, from the resale of tickets. The regulations will provide a basis for both preventative and—in the event of any breach—punitive action.

As the committee is aware, the championship presents a significant economic opportunity for Scotland and I believe that it will be an important step in our recovery from the current pandemic. Hosting a major international event will provide a great opportunity for Scotland to demonstrate that we are open for business and will further enhance our reputation as a world-class host of major events.

Thank you, cabinet secretary. The championships are certainly something that we can all look forward to.

Have information companies expressed any concern to Scottish ministers that they could fall foul of the touting offence through hosting or storing information related to an act that is in breach of the touting offence?

We have not received comments in relation to the illustrative ticket touting regulations that we shared with the Parliament in October 2019. The regulations follow the precedent that was set by ticket touting regulations that were made for the Glasgow Commonwealth games in 2014. Those regulations operated well in practice, and were also subject to public consultation.

Enforcement of the ticket touting offence in the 2020 act is an operational matter for Glasgow City Council and Police Scotland, but we want to continue to raise awareness of the issues as part of our engagement alongside event partners.

In answer to your question about whether any concerns have been raised by those information companies, no, none have been raised.

Thank you. Claire Baker has the next question.

Does the cabinet secretary have any views about the concern that the process might be quite cumbersome and whether it would be an effective deterrent? The co-operation precondition that relates to the way that we have to interact with European Economic Area states if there is an issue has led to some concerns that the process is cumbersome and slow. Has anything been done to counter that concern?

Scottish ministers are required to include the conditions affecting enforcement action to ensure compliance with European Union law, specifically article 3 of the electronic commerce directive of 2000. I think that the member is alluding to the point that the requirements mean that the hosts and indeed member states have to pursue an issue before it can be referred under that directive.

We do not think the process is too slow to act as a deterrent. Providers will be made aware that action can and will be taken where appropriate—certainly, there will be initial Scottish enforcement action, but action will also be taken by the host EEA state. I have indicated that it will be Glasgow trading standards and Police Scotland who would be the enforcers. Because this is an important issue, and we have dealt with it previously in relation to the Commonwealth Games, we do not think that there should be any issue with enforcement. As you know, the fine will be £5,000.

I want to reassure the committee that, although the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020 will be repealed on 31 December 2022, the operation of section 17 of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 means that the repeal will not affect a liability to a penalty for a championship offence under the bill that has been committed before the repeal. Again, in looking at what is required, we have tried to make sure that everything is in place in anticipation of where we will be next year.

In answer to your question about whether the process will be slow, our intention is that it will not be, but we have to follow the procedures.

Thank you. No other member has indicated that they wish to ask a question at this stage. We now move on to the next item of business, which is consideration of motion S5M-219197, in the name of the cabinet secretary, on the approval of UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020 (Ticket Touting Offence) (Exceptions for Use of Internet etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2020.

I invite the cabinet secretary to speak to and move the motion. If any member wishes to make a contribution, please type R into the chat box and I will bring you in.

As we have indicated, the UEFA championships will be a great opportunity for us to bounce back, and it is important that they demonstrate Scotland at its best. We are a welcoming nation, and we want to be open to the world. As members know, football can unite the world in lots of different ways. Hosting part of the championships in Glasgow will be a fantastic opportunity but, obviously, we have to get our technical regulations in place.

Motion moved,

That the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee recommends that the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020 (Ticket Touting Offence) (Exceptions for Use of Internet etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 [draft] be approved.—[Fiona Hyslop]

No member has indicated that they wish to make any comments.

The question is, that motion S5M-21917, in the name of the cabinet secretary, be agreed to. If any member disagrees, please type N in the chat box and we will then move to a vote.

No member has indicated that they oppose the motion.

Motion agreed to.

The committee will shortly report to Parliament on the instrument. I ask members to indicate in the chat box if they are not content to delegate signing off the final report to the deputy convener and me.

No member has indicated that they are unhappy with that approach. Thank you.