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Ticket Touting

I agree wholeheartedly that the focus should be on the consumer and what is to the consumer's advantage. Yes, we must take into consideration the events and sports, but the consumer should be at the heart of it, and I congratulate the primary and secondary markets on ensuring that consumers' interests are put to the fore. We do not want fans to be exploited. We want all consumers to have fair and equitable access to the chance to attend their chosen event, but our specific concern is ensuring that our key national and international sporting and cultural events remain widely accessible. One central issue is how tickets for sport and entertainment events are released on to the market. Current practice seems too often to benefit those whose only interest is reselling at the expense of those who actually want to go to the event. Therefore, to help improve the market for fans, the Government want to work with the ticketing industry to establish a new code of principles that the market can sign up to. As a first step, we will look to the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers, which will be particularly important in helping to take it forward. STAR is a well-established and recognised trade association with members across the events and ticketing industry. The STAR logo may be displayed by its member companies only on the condition that they abide by its code of practice and articles of association. The Government will not dictate how tickets should reach fans, as we are not in the ticketing business, but clear principles underpinning the market should benefit all fans. We want consumers to be able to buy from agents signed up to the principles with trust and certainty. We believe that to be vital.