UK Sport

We use cookies to track and analyse visitors to our website

These cookies help make the website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation. They are necessary for our website to function and cannot be switched off.
These cookies gather information to understand how visitors interact with the website, such as how many people are using our website of which pages are popular to help us improve user experience. Switching off these cookies will mean that we cannot gather information to improve the user experience.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by a third party provider whose services we have added to our website. Switching off these cookies mean that areas of our website cannot work properly.

Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient.

The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site.

For all other types of cookies we need your permission.

This site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages.

You can at any time change or withdraw your consent from the Cookie Declaration on our website.

Learn more about who we are, how you can contact us and how we process personal data in our Privacy Policy.

Skip navigation
the national lottery
Twitter Facebook Youtube Instagram LinkedIn
  • About us
    • Our Directors Team
    • Our Board
    • Panels
    • Strategic Plan 2021-31
    • Our partners
    • English Institute of Sport
    • Accessibility
    • Contact us
    • Media centre
    • FAQs
    • Working at UK Sport
  • Our work
    • Investing in sport
    • Investing in events
    • Talent identification
    • Coaching
    • Powering positive change and social impact
    • International relations
    • Leadership, development & governance
  • Events
  • News
  • Sports
    Olympic sports
    • Archery
    • Artistic Swimming
    • Athletics
    • Badminton
    • Basketball
    • Bobsleigh
    • Boxing (Amateur)
    • Canoeing
    • Curling
    • View all
    Paralympic sports
    • Boccia
    • Goalball
    • Para-Archery
    • Para-Athletics
    • Para-Badminton
    • Para-Canoe
    • Para-Cycling
    • Para-Equestrian Dressage
    • Para-Rowing
    • View all
  • Resources
    • A Code for Sports Governance
    • Organisational Health
    • Annual reports
    • Board minutes
    • British Cycling independent review
    • Complaints and whistleblowing
    • Eligibility
    • Fraud, corruption and bribery
    • High Performance System Advisory Group
    • HR policy templates
    • Pregnancy guidance
    • Reports
    • Privacy policies
    • Publication Scheme
    • Recruitment framework
    • The Whyte Review
    • Tenders
    • Transparency and open data
    • Welsh language scheme
  • Jobs in sport
    • Explore career pathways
    • Jobs in sport
    • Submit a job
  • About us
    • Our Directors Team
    • Our Board
    • Panels
    • Strategic Plan 2021-31
    • Our partners
    • English Institute of Sport
    • Accessibility
    • Contact us
    • Media centre
    • FAQs
    • Working at UK Sport
  • Our work
    • Investing in sport
    • Investing in events
    • Talent identification
    • Coaching
    • Powering positive change and social impact
    • International relations
    • Leadership, development & governance
  • Events
  • News
  • Sports
    Olympic sports
    • Archery
    • Artistic Swimming
    • Athletics
    • Badminton
    • Basketball
    • Bobsleigh
    • Boxing (Amateur)
    • Canoeing
    • Curling
    • View all
    Paralympic sports
    • Boccia
    • Goalball
    • Para-Archery
    • Para-Athletics
    • Para-Badminton
    • Para-Canoe
    • Para-Cycling
    • Para-Equestrian Dressage
    • Para-Rowing
    • View all
  • Resources
    • A Code for Sports Governance
    • Organisational Health
    • Annual reports
    • Board minutes
    • British Cycling independent review
    • Complaints and whistleblowing
    • Eligibility
    • Fraud, corruption and bribery
    • High Performance System Advisory Group
    • HR policy templates
    • Pregnancy guidance
    • Reports
    • Privacy policies
    • Publication Scheme
    • Recruitment framework
    • The Whyte Review
    • Tenders
    • Transparency and open data
    • Welsh language scheme
  • Jobs in sport
    • Explore career pathways
    • Jobs in sport
    • Submit a job
Press Enter to Search
News

UK Sport Delighted By Cross Party Support For Elite Sport Role

Published 7 March 2007

UK Sport has “come of age” in its role as the country’s lead agency for high performance sport, according to comments made in a recent House of Commons debate on sport.  The agency, now in its tenth year, has the primary role of investing in and supporting the nation’s Olympic and Paralympic ambitions.  It received strong support from both sides of the House of Commons for its ‘interventionist’ approach to promoting change and maximizing the impact of public funding, whilst working to help and support sports to compete and succeed on the world stage.

The debate took place last Thursday in Westminster Hall.  It was opened by the Minister for Sport Richard Caborn MP who, in describing how the landscape for sport in the UK has now been greatly simplified and improved, praised UK Sport’s “exceptionally good leadership” in creating a high-performance sporting system that “will be the envy of the world in the not-too-distant future.”

Hugh Robertson MP, Shadow Minster for Sport, then made clear his support for UK Sport’s role and activity:  “I have genuinely been enormously encouraged by several of the developments that have taken place in elite sport since we won the right to host the 2012 Games…UK Sport has now come of age and found a proper role as the lead agency in distributing money and setting rigorous performance standards. There have been complaints about centralisation, but—perhaps curiously for a Conservative—I entirely support the Government’s approach, because a little rigour and toughness were needed to get the system up and running. The Government took that approach safe in the knowledge that they would be able to take a more hands-off approach once they were satisfied that the correct systems were in place.”

Hugh Robertson then completed his remarks by confirming: “I hope that the Minister will take some confidence, on a cross-party basis, from the fact that I am broadly satisfied with the progress that has been made.”

Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat Spokesman for Sport, also praised the simplification of the sporting system in the UK and acknowledged the vital contribution of elite sporting success. 

Commenting on the debate, Sue Campbell, Chair of UK Sport, said: “The fact that politicians from all sides of the House of Commons have acknowledged so positively our role and the work that we are doing supporting the Olympic and Paralympic sports is extremely welcome.  Our ambition is to create a world class high performance system in this country, as part of a joined up vision for sport.  We are committed to driving change, and we will not shirk from tough action where it is needed, but our goal is unashamedly aspirational: we want to help British sport be the best it can be – we are doing what we do to aid their success and that of their athletes.  I think this is becoming increasingly recognized, and positive comments in support of the Minister in last week’s debate are evidence of that fact.”
 

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
News
five athletes sat on stage in mid disussion
International Relations Seminar 2023
21 March 2023
Eilish crossing the line celebrating with her arms in the air
New research shows British public support athletes speaking out and driving social change
8 March 2023
Female wheelchair basketball player lines up a shot at the hoop.
UK Sport makes first awards from NGB Development Fund to support organisational health
22 February 2023
Sport jobs in the UK
Find & advertise UK based sports jobs here
Read more
Funding Partners
  • DCMS
  • TNL partners
Strategic Partners
  • British Olympic Association
  • Paralympics GB
  • english institute of sport logo
  • Sport England
  • Sport Northern Ireland
  • Sport Wales
  • Sport Scotland
Sitelogo
Sitemap
  • Homepage
  • About us
  • Our work
  • Events
  • News
  • Sports
  • Resources
  • Jobs in sport
  • UK Sport editorial policy
  • Freedom of Information Act 2000
  • Website terms
  • Accessibility
  • Cookies policy
  • FAQs
Contact
UK Sport
6th Floor
10 South Colonnade
London
E14 4PU
E: info@uksport.gov.uk
T: +44 (0) 20 7211 5100
Follow us
Twitter Facebook Youtube Instagram LinkedIn

© Copyright UK Sport 2023