Safety at Sports Grounds Act 1975

The Safety at Sports Grounds Act 1975 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allows the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to designate a sports ground that can accommodate more than 10,000 spectators (5,000 spectators for grounds that host the Premier League or English Football League matches) to require a safety certificate, in order for them to admit spectators into the ground.

Section 1 - Safety certificates for large sports stadia
This section outlines that any sports ground that has accommodation of more than 10,000 spectators (according to the opinion of the Secretary of State), may be designated as a 'sports ground' and as a result, requires a 'safety certificate'.

The Secretary of State may estimate 'by any means which he considers appropriate' how many people a sports ground can accommodate and may require the information to be provided by a person from the sports ground.

A safety certificate may be issued by the local authority, outlining what activities take place in the sports ground.

Section 2 - Contents of safety certificates
This section outlines that a safety certificate will have terms and conditions, determined by the local authority, as to what is necessary for reasonable safety at the sports ground, when it is being used for a specified activity or activities.

Section 3 - Applications for certificates
This section outlines that when a person applies for a safety certificate, the local authority has a duty is to determine whether the applicant of a safety certificate is able to prevent the terms and conditions of the safety certificate from being contravened. This person is known as a 'qualified person'.

Section 4 - Amendment etc. of certificates
This section outlines that the local authority can amend or replace a safety certificate, if they consider it appropriate.

Section 5 - Appeals
This section outlines that a qualified person may appeal the decision that they are not considered a qualified person, including on grounds 'other than a determination that he is not a qualified person'.