Examination of Witness (Questions 120
- 130)
MS MARGARET
HODGE, MP
WEDNESDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2000
120. But you are adopting similar principles
to different sports in your view?
(Mrs Hodge) Yes. It is all about quality. The work
permit system for all sports people is around ensuring that we
get the best talent into the United Kingdom to give us good sports
and to help us grow home talent.
121. I have a note here which says that what
you are saying about cricket is wrong and that we have been told
that it is one Test Match or three one-day matches or five first-class
matches. I only know what information I am passed, as do you.
(Mrs Hodge) My understanding is that it is one Test
Match and three one-day matches. If I am mistaken in that I will
come back to you.
122. Can I move on to ask you the Mike Tyson
question? I do not think Mike Tyson should have been allowed in
this country, a convicted rapist, let alone biting off other boxers'
ears. Is a player's conduct off the field, for example, if he
has a criminal conviction, taken into account in the issue of
work permits?
(Mrs Hodge) No. The work permit is issued entirely
around a player's performance in a sport. There will then be an
issue of a visa, a Home Office issue of immigration status, and
it is for the Home Office to have regard to any criteria that
they wish to in determining whether or not to allow that person
entry into the country.
123. So the equivalent on the field of biting
off someone's ear would not count as being within your remit?
(Mrs Hodge) No.
124. But it would still be a Home Office issue?
(Mrs Hodge) That would be entirely a matter for the
Home Office and immigration rules.
Mr Brady
125. In that context, if a player has missed
a match through disciplinary proceedings against him, that is
treated in the same way as if he had missed a match through injury?
(Mrs Hodge) Yes.
126. Should that be the case?
(Mrs Hodge) The function of the work permit criteria
is entirely to assess the quality of the player and the contribution
that they would make to the game. It is not the function to pass
judgement on other issues.
127. Does the contribution made to the game
not also include the conduct and behaviour of a sportsman as part
of that game?
(Mrs Hodge) I think if we started having regard to
suspensions, which is what would happen if somebody misbehaved
in a particular game, we would land ourselves in terrible difficulties.
Can I come back, because I have been corrected, to what Judy said?
On cricket I got it wrong. It is a minimum of one Test Match for
the country consisting of five days or at least three one-day
internationals for their country or a minimum of five first-class
matches, not one-day matches, so apologies for that.
Judy Mallaber
128. I am concerned about this issue of conduct.
Repeating what Graham said, how can you say somebody is playing
at the highest level, which you said is a quality criterion, if
you are saying that their conduct does not count as part of that?
(Mrs Hodge) What I would put back to you is how could
you have proper objective criteria around conduct, which would
then be seen to be fair and consistent and open? That is the difficulty.
Mr Pearson
129. I was interested in your comment when you
were talking about the criteria for other sports and you said
that as sports develop and strengthen you would want to tighten
up the criteria. If you take the example of cricket and overseas
players, it was said to us that if it is overseas players what
they look for is a first-class bowler and a good opening batsman.
Is it any great surprise that we have not got many first-class
bowlers and many good opening batsman in the United Kingdom? If
you take the case of ice hockey, we have seen some evidence that
all we are doing is giving work permits to a load of clapped-out
Canadians and Americans who are past internationals. How are you
going to assess whether the sport is going to develop and the
criteria need to be strengthened? Are you aware that it might
be the case that a sport will not actually strengthen and develop
because of the work permit system that operates at the moment?
(Mrs Hodge) On the criteria in relation to cricket,
I consider that to be a well developed game, so in a sense the
criteria are tough. On ice hockey, I understand that there have
been allegations around that, that clapped-out players are being
let in. I do not think that is true. I would be really happy again,
if you got some details of people whom we have let in under those
criteria who are considered inappropriate, to look at them again.
I do not think the allegations are sustainable.
Chairman
130. Minister, in thanking you for your patience
in answering our questions can I just ask you to take back into
government the weight of the evidence that we have received so
far of the broader concerns for sport and in particular for football
where people are concerned that we are restricting the development
of our own young talent, not only are we not investing sufficiently
but there is no room for them to come forward, and also that the
quality of the English team—I think Kevin Keegan is reported
to have said that the pool from which he can now select his team
is 30 to 35, whereas a couple of years ago or more it was 20 or
so more than that. There are genuine concerns. It could be that
the work permit is not the way that we can deal with all those
concerns, but if you can take those concerns into government,
no doubt your colleagues will consult accordingly. We are of course
all concerned about the national game, we are all concerned about
England and Scotland and the Wales team being able to be world
class, and we want to see our young talent being brought to full
development.
(Mrs Hodge) We share those concerns completely with
you which is why we keep the whole system under constant review.
I just hope that I have left you with this understanding, that
I am not sure it is the work permit criteria which are the key
factor in ensuring that we grow the home talent that we all desire
to give us first-class football.
Chairman: Thank you very much indeed.
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