UK Sport is a strategic investor of National Lottery and Exchequer funding in Olympic and Paralympic performance programmes.
Pursuant to its Royal Charter and National Lottery Directions, UK Sport encourages, supports, and promotes the highest standards of integrity in the high-performance system and from all recipients of its funding. High standards of conduct are essential to UK Sport achieving it’s Ambition to ‘Keeping Winning and Win Well’ and are important in upholding the positive impact of sport on society.
UK Sport's Funding Eligibility Policy
As a strategic, discretionary investor of public funds in Olympic and Paralympic sports, Athletes and Athlete Support Personnel (ASPs), UK Sport reserves the right to decide who is eligible to receive Public Funding and/or Publicly Funded Benefits through the Funding Eligibility Policy (“the Policy”). UK Sport’s guiding principle is that receipt of UK Sport investment by Athletes and ASPs is a privilege and not a right.
Where the conduct of an Athlete or ASP does not meet the high integrity standards expected of them, their eligibility to receive Public Funding and/or Publicly Funded Benefits can be reviewed under the Policy.
You can download the latest version of the Policy (last updated in April 2023) below.
Eligibility Policy and Rules
Eligibility Panel
Where the conduct of an Athlete or ASP calls their eligibility for public funding into question, UK Sport has established an Eligibility Panel to review the case and determine eligibility for Public Funding and/or Publicly Funded Benefits under the Policy.
The UK Sport Board has fully delegated decision-making authority to the Eligibility Panel to determine matters relating to the eligibility of Athletes or ASPs to receive Public Funding and/or Publicly Funded Benefits in accordance with the Policy.
Eligibility Panel Decisions
In accordance with the terms of the Eligibility Policy where the Eligibility Panel determine a breach of the Policy has occurred, the Panel may elect, in their sole discretion, to publish information regarding the decision.
Any decisions where it has been deemed appropriate to publish the outcome can be found below:
Safeguarding
The NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) and Ann Craft Trust receive funding from UK Sport to support UK Sport-funded World Class Performance Programmes in the area of Safeguarding.
Further details of the work of the CPSU and Ann Craft Trust can be found below:
Reporting inappropriate behaviour
Sport Integrity is a confidential reporting line and independent investigation service, that is delivered through Sport Resolutions. The service is available for all athletes and staff on Olympic and Paralympic performance programmes, to report allegations of unacceptable behaviour, including:
• Bullying;
• Harassment;
• Discrimination;
• Abuse (verbal and physical);
• Sexual misconduct;
• Sexual harassment;
• Victimisation;
• Breach of an applicable policy.
For more information or to raise a concern, please visit the Sport Integrity website.
If you are looking for further advice and/or support then the following organisations may also be able to support you:
National Anti-Doping Policy
As a publicly funded sports council, UK Sport is bound to the UK's National Anti-Doping Policy (NADP) which is managed and implemented by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD).
The purpose of the NADP is to set out the policy objectives and requirements of the UK government and the devolved administrations, in the field of anti-doping in sport. UK Sport supports the work of UKAD by making compliance with the NADP a condition of all our funding.
As UK Sport;
- We have a responsibility under the NADP to ensure it follows the necessary steps when an individual in receipt of public funding is charged with an anti-doping rule violation. This includes the suspension of publicly funded benefits and support.
- We recognise the importance of helping to uphold clean sport and work closely with the Assurance team at UKAD in the implementation of its Assurance Framework.
- We work collaboratively with the UKAD Education Team in promoting its work in clean sport through setting out anti-doping education requirements for athletes and athlete support personnel in the Grant Funding Agreements with National Governing Bodies.
Whyte Review
Together with Sport England, UK Sport co-commissioned a fully independent review into allegations of abuse in gymnastics.
The Review was led by Anne Whyte QC, and it heard from individual gymnasts, parents, carers or guardians of gymnasts, gymnastics coaches, British Gymnastics staff or former staff and any other organisations and individuals who wanted to provide information.
The Review was published on 16 June 2022 and the Whyte Review Report is available to read here. (This link is a PDF download)
Following the release of the report, Ms Whyte QC published a statement and on publication our chief executive Sally Munday and Sport England’s Tim Hollingsworth, provided a joint statement.
Further updates regarding the Whyte Review will be published via our News page.