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A Code for Sports Governance (2021 Publication)

Published 7 December 2021

Earlier this year UK Sport and Sport England announced the changes made to strengthen the Code for Sports Governance, following which we have now published a number of further documents as below.

Among the changes announced in July was the need for bodies in receipt of substantial public funding from either UK Sport or Sport England to have a detailed and ambitious Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP).

Both UK Sport and Sport England will work with our funded partners to help them understand the changes and timeframes expected for producing and publishing the DIAPs, as well as implementing all other requirements in the Code.

Should members of our funded partner organisations have any questions, we would encourage them to  contact relevant leads at UK Sport or Sport England.

A Code for Sports Governance (2021 Publication)

As well as focusing on areas for development and best practice in governance, the review of the Code drew on internal insights, external consultation and experiences learned in the years since its launch in 2016 to inform the changes.

For Tier 3-funded organisations (i.e. organisations in receipt of more than £1m in funding from UK Sport or Sport England), these changes include:

  • Welfare and Safety: each organisation’s Board will be required to appoint one of its directors to take a lead in this area.
    • This requirement follows other major work on this issue, including investing to support organisations with their own safeguarding work, and the expansion of the Safeguarding Case Management Service to help more organisations access expert support.
  • Organisations will now be asked to cascade good governance by setting out, promoting and supporting the implementation of minimum good governance standards throughout an organisation’s operations (e.g., internal structures and at regional/county level). Examples of such to date include The Football Association’s Code of Governance for County Football Associations, a regional Code which sets a high precedent and aims to upskill those running the grassroots game.
  • Recognising the increasing importance of environmental and social factors to business, and responding to feedback from the extensive consultation exercise conducted as part of the review, the Code will require Boards to factor responsibilities towards the environment and wider society into their decisions and actions.
  • All organisations will need to have a plan for its people, to be reviewed on at least on annual basis.

Access the Code for Sports Governance document via the UK Sport website here. A pdf version can also be found here.

Access the Code for Sports Governance document via the Sport England website here

Tier 1 Booklet

Tier 1 represents the minimum level of mandatory governance requirements as part of the Code.

The Requirements in this Tier seek to ensure the protection of public funding through good governance processes, whilst not creating a disproportionate administrative burden. Examples of Tier 1 organisations include local community groups, projects and clubs.

UK Sport and Sport England will generally categorise an investment as Tier 1 if:

• it is granted on a one-off basis (for example, for a specific project which has a finite life); and

• the total amount of funding is typically between £10k and £250k.

All organisations seeking funding above £10k will therefore need to meet at least the basic governance Requirements of Tier 1, with these set out clearly in this brand-new resource for Tier 1 organisations which includes guidance and support tools.

Access the Tier 1 Booklet via the UK Sport website here. A pdf version can also be found here.

Access the Tier 1 Booklet via the Sport England website here. 

Perrett Laver Board Diversity Audit

Following the first Leadership Audit conducted in 2018, once again in 2020 Board members in organisations funded by UK Sport or Sport England were asked to complete a survey.

Available to view and download here, the latest Audit captures data related to gender, ethnicity, disability, LGBT+, sexuality and educational background.

Alongside on-going work with funded bodies to develop individual Diversity and Inclusion Action Plans, UK Sport and Sport England are aiming to complete independent Leadership Audits across funded partners on at least a biennial basis. 

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