How will Project Restart handle positive coronavirus tests and 19 other questions for government to answer
As the Premier League try to find a 'spirit of compromise' during discussions to resume the campaign, sports minister Nigel Huddleston has been asked to answer 20 key questions
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Your support makes all the difference.Shadow sports minister Alison McGovern has submitted 20 questions for the government to answer over the Premier League's Project Restart plan, including what the protocol would be for positive coronavirus test results.
The Labour MP for Wirral South also queries how many Covid-19 tests the completion of the season would require along with how many medical staff will be present for spectator-less games.
As the Premier League try to find a “spirit of compromise” on Monday during layered discussions to resume the campaign, McGovern’s letter motions for the government’s advice to the body to be placed in the House of Commons library.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden is due to meet football authorities on Thursday to plot a path forward with the green light been given for sport to resume behind closed doors from June 1.
The 20 questions, which McGovern has requested a swift response to, were addressed to sports minister Huddleston and are listed below:
1. Do you, on behalf of the Government, accept that it is the guidance of the UK Government that will underpin any positive decision to finish the 2019/2020 Premier League season; that the Government’s support is therefore a necessary condition for the project to work; and that therefore you will place in the House of Commons Library the Government’s advice to the Premier League?
2. Will you also publish the technical and medical documents that inform the decisions that you take on restarting the Premier League?
3. What mechanism have you established to take evidence from club doctors, independent of owners?
4. Who will be ultimately liable for the efficacy of occupational health risk assessments? Will it be club medical staff? What are the reasonable standards required during this current COVID-19 pandemic?
5. Will you place in the House of Commons Library advice provided by Public Health England on Project Restart?
6. How many COVID-19 tests will the completion of the current Premier League season require?
7. How many people, in total, will be present for games in order to complete the Premier League season?
8. How many medical staff will be present for games?
9. How many other non-playing staff will be present?
10. How will referees be allocated, and what advice have you provided for referees?
11. How many journalists and other media professionals will be present, and what advice has been provided for them?
12. For all the above groups, who will supply Personal Protective Equipment, and who will manage its correct use?
13. Over what time-frame will games be played?
14. What protocol has been agreed for responding to positive test results? Will you place this protocol in the House of Commons Library?
15. What financial support will the Premier League provide to the EFL and other leagues as part of Project Restart?
16. Will the 2020/2021 season of the Premier League be played without interruption or alteration?
17. What role has the Government asked the FA to play in the conclusion of the Premier League season?
18. What role has the Government asked the FA to play in supporting the grassroots game, and planning for its rebuild, once the current COVID19 outbreak is under control?
19. What steps is the Government planning to take if football clubs do collapse whilst waiting for the restart of football beyond the Premier League?
20. Given that Project Restart will not see fans watch games – for which they may hold tickets – will he work with clubs to see ticket prices are frozen or even reduced when fans are able to return to football grounds?
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