Teams in the Premier League and Championship have been permitted to introduce safe standing areas at stadiums next season.
Following safe standing pilots undertaken in the second half of last season by the city’s two local teams, Manchester United and Manchester City, as well as Cardiff, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur, the UK government has now announced that the top two tiers of English football will be allowed to offer safe standing.
Brentford, Wolves, and QPR have already confirmed they will join the aforementioned clubs in offering designated standing areas for both home and away supporters from the start of the 2022-23 season.
The success of the pilot scheme has lead to a reversal of the 30-year rule, which required all supporters to be seated at stadiums.
Stadiums in England’s top two leagues have been required to be all-seated since laws were introduced following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.
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Sky Sports News says it understands that Liverpool FC are not considering introducing the options for safe standing next season, but the club may decide to extend or increase their existing rail seating provision after having run a separate pilot for it last season.
BREAKING: Premier League and Championship clubs will be allowed to introduce licensed safe standing areas from the start of the season. pic.twitter.com/AZDLmM5ig1
It’s not just domestic football that’s been given the green light either either, as it’s also been confirmed that Wembley Stadium will also offer limited safe standing for fans from both sets of clubs at domestic matches later in the season, with the Football Association (FA) set to trial safety rails at England’s Nations League match against Germany in September – but at that stage, supporters must remain seated.
The green light given for safe standing comes after research was undertaken by CFE Research, which found that, despite there being a rise in anti-social behaviour and disorder at some football matches during last season, this was not related to the pilot of safe standing areas.
The research also found no evidence that the safe standing pilot areas led to an increase in standing in other parts of the stadium, and more than half of fans surveyed (52%) said they felt safer with the introduction of safe standing areas.
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Only 5% of fans surveyed said they felt less safe.
Manchester United and Manchester City were two of the teams to take part in safe standing pilots / Credit: Alex Motoc (via Unsplash)
“We’re confident now that we can roll out safe standing,” explained Sports Minister, Nigel Huddleston.
“Based upon what I have experienced and we have learnt through the pilot programme, safe standing is set to deliver an electric atmosphere at our football stadiums. Fans have long campaigned for its introduction and we have worked carefully with supporters groups, including the families affected by the tragic Hillsborough football disaster.
“I am proud of the work that has gone into this rigorous process, and that we have delivered on our manifesto commitment to get fans back on their feet in stadiums.”
Martyn Henderson OBE – chief executive of Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) – added: “This is an historic moment for football – and, most importantly, for the fans who have campaigned for this change and will be safer as a result of today’s decision.”
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Ofcom says tech and social media platforms ‘must enforce’ their minimum age rules
Emily Sergeant
Ofcom has issued an urgent warning, calling on major sites and apps to enforce their minimum age rules with highly-effective age checks.
As it examines continued failings by these services, the online safety regulator says it has this week written to the major sites and apps that young people use the most – including Facebook, Instagram, Roblox, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube – requiring them to prove to parents a ‘genuine commitment’ to protecting children online.
Since the UK’s online safety laws came into force last year, Ofcom says it has been investigating nearly a hundred different services.
The regulator has taken enforcement action, secured changes to disrupt the sharing of child sexual abuse material, and seen high-risk services either get in line or block access to the UK altogether, as well as ensuring that millions of daily visits to porn sites now require highly effective age checks.
Major platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Telegram, Discord, and Reddit have also introduced age controls to prevent children accessing adult or harmful content.
Four ‘clear’ demands for further action have been set out by the regulator this week – effective minimum-age policies and reinforcement of these, strict child grooming protections, safer feeds and algorithms for children, and an end to product testing – particularly AI tools – on children.
Ofcom says tech and social media platforms ‘must enforce’ their minimum age rules / Credit: Robin Worrall (via Unsplash)
Ofcom says it has given the aforementioned platforms a deadline of 30 April to report back to it on the action they will take, and then the following month, the regulator will report on how the companies have responded and announce any next steps for regulatory action.
Speaking on the warning issued this week, Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s Chief Executive, said: “These online services are household names, but they’re failing to put children’s safety at the heart of their products.
“There is a gap between what tech companies promise in private, and what they’re doing publicly to keep children safe on their platforms.
“Without the right protections, like effective age checks, children have been routinely exposed to risks they didn’t choose, on services they can’t realistically avoid. That must now change quickly, or Ofcom will act.”
Featured Image – Julian Christ (via Unsplash)
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Derelict Manchester office block to become ‘vital’ accommodation for homeless families
Emily Sergeant
A derelict former office block in Manchester is set to become vital accommodation for homeless families in the region.
Manchester City Council has announced that, subject to planning approval, new temporary accommodation for dozens of homeless families will be created on the site of a derelict former office block in south Manchester, off Nell Lane in Chorlton.
The Council acquired the 1.1 acre site last month with the support of the Government’s Local Authority Housing Fund.
The initiative – which is part of wider plans to boost the city’s stock of quality temporary accommodation – will see self-contained two-bedroom accommodation created for around 55 homeless families built where former NHS offices, Mauldeth House, currently stand.
Mauldeth House has been empty for several years now at this point, and had become somewhat of a ‘blight’ on the neighbourhood, attracting anti-social behaviour along the way and being targeted by squatters – but with the plans for the new accommodation, this could change for the better.
The site, and therefore the new accommodation, is said to be ‘ideally located’ for families, as it’s close to shops, schools, public transport, leisure facilities, and Chorlton Park.
The new accommodation will see families supported by a specialist team based on site to help them move on as quickly as possible into permanent settled tenancies, which is, of course, the long-term goal for many.
The Mauldeth House initiative is cited as being one example of the Council’s drive to increase its temporary accommodation stock across the city to reduce the number of out-of-area placements.
Other successful examples of this initiative include Mariana House in Whalley Range, and The Poplars in Rusholme.
It also comes after it was announced last month that homeless children in Greater Manchester, particularly those who are placed in temporary accommodation out of area for their school, will now get free bus travel to and from school.
“Mauldeth House is a great example of how we can put derelict properties to good use to benefit those experiencing homelessness, as well as making our neighbourhood look better,” explained Deputy Council Leader, Cllr Joanna Midgley.
“We are tackling homelessness on many fronts, the most important one being prevention, but we also need an increased supply of good quality temporary accommodation within the city so that if people do become homeless they are not uprooted from their social support networks.
“One of the ways we are doing this is through the innovative use of existing sites whether they are council owned or we are able to acquire them, as in the case of Mauldeth House.”
Emily Sergeant -
5th July 2022 
