Earlier this year UK Sport and Sport England announced changes made to strengthen the Code for Sports Governance. Among these 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).
In a joint statement both UK Sport and Sport England said they 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.
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.
The revised Code for Sports Governance document can be accessed here.
Tier 1 Booklet
Alongside the 2021 Code, Uk Sport and Sport England have also published a separate booklet for Tier 1 - the minimum level of mandatory governance requirements as part of the Code - containing guidance and support tools specific to that Tier, and a diversity audit report following Perrett Laver’s survey of Sport England/UK Sport-funded organisations that began in 2018.
Sport England and UK Sport will generally categorise an investment as Tier 1 if:
- It’s 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 of more than £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.
The Tier 1 Booklet can be accessed 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.
The results can be seen here.
