Sport: Corruption

Lord Naseby Excerpts

Tuesday 29th November 2016 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Naseby]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of this year’s Global Corruption Report by Transparency International, what action they are taking to tackle corruption in sport.

[Lord Naseby (Con)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so I declare an interest as president of Northamptonshire County Cricket Club and the MCC, and as a member of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, the Government are fully committed to tackling corruption in sport at all levels. This is reflected in Sporting Future, the Government’s sport strategy. Working closely with bodies such as UK Anti-Doping and the Gambling Commission, we are not only taking steps to protect integrity in the United Kingdom, but playing our part in tackling these threats through co-ordinated international efforts with partners such as the World Anti-Doping Agency.

[Lord Naseby]

I am extremely grateful for that reassuring Answer. Nevertheless, I wonder how many of your Lordships understand the extent of the illegal betting and fixing of matches going on across so many sports. While the ECB for cricket and the All England Club and others in the tennis world are taking action, in my judgment far too many sporting bodies have only just started to realise the challenge before them. Against that background, will my noble friend, through the Government, put pressure on these governing bodies, in particular to monitor that they have governance in place, that there is transparency in what they are doing, and, above all, that there is an independent assessment of whatever procedures they may have?

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend on his Question, and in particular on his contacts with so many famous sporting groups. At the domestic level, a new United Kingdom code of sports governance was published only last month, as my noble friend is aware. It sets out a commitment in the Sporting Future strategy and makes it clear that we expect the highest standards of governance and transparency from all sports governing bodies that wish to receive public funding from 2017. If these are not adhered to, their funding will be under question.

My noble friend also talked about independence of examination, but one must remember that government funding is only part of such organisations’ funding. They are independent bodies but they must adhere to the governance code. Part of the checks and balances must minimise the likelihood of integrity issues arising.