Written question asked by Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 17 July 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 July 2006. It was answered by Richard Caborn (Labour) on Monday, 24 July 2006 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Obesity

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will bring forward proposals to require seating at venues open to the public to be increased in size to accommodate obese people; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: The Health and Safety Executive publishes guidance on seating in The Event Safety Guide and Guide to fire precautions in existing places of entertainment and like premises.For sports grounds, there is no standard allocation of space for a seated person, as such. However, my Department’s document Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds does provide guidance on minimum seat widths and seating row depths. The purpose of the document is to give guidance on how to calculate the safe capacity of a sports ground.More broadly, my Department, along with the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills, is taking joint action to halt the year-on-year rise in obesity amongst children under 11, in the context of tackling obesity in the population as a whole.

Secondary information