Following detailed development and planning with Lord Carter, Chair of Sport England, and Sue Campbell, Chair of UK Sport, Sport England will in future focus on encouraging greater participation in sport and the development of grassroots sport through its increasingly efficient regional sports boards.
UK Sport will lead on delivering success in high performance sport, developing elite athletes from the early stages of their careers through to the podium for sports that compete at a UK and England level.
Responsibility for the World Class Potential Programmes for Olympic and Paralympic sports, the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), the TASS 2012 Scholarships and the funding and directing of the work of the English Institute of Sport (EIS), will transfer from Sport England to UK Sport with effect from 1 April next year. UK Sport will also be responsible for the performance element of non-Olympic sports.
Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Olympics Minister, said:
"Winning the Olympic Games was a huge achievement for sport in this country. It is vital that we capitalise on this once-in-a-generation opportunity to boost our medal hopes and drive up participation in sport.
"The changes announced today will create a clear organisational distinction between community and elite sport. This will allow Sport England to focus on delivering greater participation at the frontline through the regional sports boards."
"And this means UK Sport can develop athletes from the time their clear medal potential is identified until they reach the podium in 2012 and beyond. These reforms give us a structure for sport that is fit for purpose – that purpose being to get many thousands of people to participate for the first time and to boost the chances of our young stars winning medals in the decade ahead."
"I am most grateful to Lord Carter for his report on the organisation of sport in England, on which we are now acting."
Lord Carter, Chair of Sport England, said:
"It was clear to me that we needed to separate responsibilities for community and elite sport and to make Sport England responsible for participation and UK Sport responsible for winning medals. Sport England can now focus its efforts specifically on the development of grass roots sport and driving up participation.
"In order to achieve this, Sport England will continue to streamline its head office in London and deploy those resources to the regions. Having already significantly cut administrative costs in the last two years, our further reforms will cut down on administration costs and re-deploy further resources to frontline services."
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Sue Campbell, UK Sport Chair, added:
"The system we have had until now has often meant a lack of consistency of approach and duplication of effort. Many of us called for change but since July the sports themselves have sought a single agency to have lead responsibility for all areas of high performance sport.
"With these changes, we are now able to present a streamlined and integrated pathway. That is a vital step forward – allowing us to ensure that the investment of public money in Olympic and Paralympic sport is targeted where it is most required."
Sport England will also take the lead and have a more pronounced profile in ensuring the co-ordination of sponsorship efforts across the sporting landscape. Organisations who wish to sponsor sport and who need advice in doing so will have a single point of contact for expert advice. This will build on the work of SportsAid, and complement existing effective partnerships between individual sports and their sponsors.
The Government, with Sport England and the big four commercial sports, are examining options on how most effectively to deliver the National Sports Foundation, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in this year's Budget.
Other changes announced today include establishing a Strategy Board, chaired by Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell. This will develop strategy and ensure effective co-ordination across Government-funded sports programmes. It will include representatives from the Department for Education and Skills, the Department of Health, the Chairs of Sport England and UK Sport and a representative from the Youth Sport Trust.
The Government is examining further the merits of a single brand for sport, as recommended by Lord Carter in his report. The DCMS will also continue to examine ways of achieving savings and benefits from shared backroom services such as IT and HR.
Note to Editors
1. The Carter Report on Sport was published in April 2005.
Press Enquiries:
Sport England
07782 268 078
http://www.sportengland.org/
UK Sport
020 7211 5144/5106
http://www.uksport.gov.uk/
