In each region of England the same basic structure applies, although there is some variation from region to region in respect of the exact membership of the various Boards, Committees and Federations.

Until recently, England was divided into ten regions. 'Sport England' (the English Sports Council) has operated a regional office in each region, and the regional sports organisations (Forum, Board, Federation, Sports Aid) followed the same structure. Recent modifications have been implemented by DCMS, and mirrored by Sport England. This has had the following effects:

• to remove Cumbria from the Northern region (which was already the smallest region) and add it to North West. Northern region has been renamed ‘North East’.
• To amalgamate the Southern and South-East regions, to produce a single region stretching from Milton Keynes to Dover, and from Isle of Sheppey to the Isle of Wight, with a population in excess of 12 million. As a result of this amalgamation, the Southern and South-East regional Federations have found it impossible to continue to function, and have been disbanded. Some County groups have been formed in their place.

The nine regions now are:

• North East - Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham and Cleveland
• Yorkshire - North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and the Humber area including North Lincolnshire & North East Lincolnshire
• North West - Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire
• East Midlands - Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire (excluding the parts in Yorkshire region), Leicestershire and Northamptonshire
• West Midlands - Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Hereford & Worcester, and the West Midlands Metropolitan area
• Eastern - Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire
• London - Greater London
• South & South East - Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Surrey, Kent and Sussex
• South West - Gloucestershire, Somerset, Avon, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon and Cornwall

Government Office
A member of DCMS staff is based in the Government Office in each region.

Regional Development Agency (‘RDA’)
In Yorkshire, this is called ‘Yorkshire Forward’. Its purposes are to promote economic development and regeneration; promote business investment and competitiveness; promote employment; enhance the development and application of skills relevant to employment; and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in the UK.

Regional Assembly
This is a political forum, attended by elected representatives of each of the Local Authorities in the region.

Sport is usually represented on the Regional Cultural Consortium by the Chair of the Regional Sports Board. The Regional Director of Sport England is generally an ex-officio member, or a member of an Officers’ Group.

 Sport England – Regional Office
In each region, there is a regional office of Sport England. The regional office of Sport England is directed by the English Sports Council nationally. It is not answerable to, or directed by any regional agency, although there is an implied expectation that it will seek the views of the Regional Sports Board on its policies and plans.
Most of the other agencies represented on the Officers’ Group of the Cultural Consortium are regional agencies, directed by and answerable to the region (e.g. Tourism); whereas Sport England is a national agency with no regional direction, or ownership, but it is influenced by the wishes of the Regional Sports Board.

Regional Sports Board
A Committee has been established in each region, with grant-aid support from Sport England (£35,000 in South/South-East region and £25,000 in each of the other regions). The exact composition of the Committee (known as the ‘Regional Sports Board’) varies from region to region, but broadly contains the following:

• A Chair, usually filled by an elected member from the Local Authorities
• A Vice-Chair, usually from the Voluntary Sector (typically, the Chair of the Regional Federation of Sport)
• A Treasurer
• Representatives nominated by the Local Authorities (typically, approximately 50% of total membership)
• Representatives nominated by the Regional Federation of Sport (typically, approximately 25% of total membership)
• Representatives nominated by various other bodies (which have regional variations)
• A Member of English Sports Council
• The Regional Director of Sport England

The total number of members varies between 25-45 from region to region, and in at least one region an inner ‘Cabinet’ exists of some 6 members, who are selected as individuals, rather than as representatives.

• The Secretariat of the Regional Sports Board is contracted by the Board for a fee, in whichever way the Board decides. In the Yorkshire region, the Secretariat is administered within the Leisure Services Department of Sheffield City Council.
• The formation of County groups to deliver Sport England programmes, and the appointment of Active Sport Co-ordinators for County or similar groups of Local Authorities (‘County Sports Partnerships’) has caused some Local Authorities to pay less attention to the Regional structures. For many Local Authorities, the focus of their attention has become these County groups (from which they derive much of their funding support) rather than the region.
• In order to combat the problem of increased isolation of the Board from many of their constituents, some regions (including Yorkshire) have retained a ‘General Assembly’, whose membership is similar to that of the old regional Councils of Sport & Recreation (i.e. every Local Authority can attend). The General Assembly in Yorkshire meets three times a year; one of these meetings is the Annual General Meeting, at which election of officers of the Board, confirmation of the other members of the Board, and approval of the accounts take place. The Federation of Yorkshire Sport represents the voluntary sports sector at meetings of the General Assembly.
• Most National Governing Bodies of Sport (‘NGBS’) have regional and/or county structures, and usually these regional and county organisations are members of their regional federation of sport. Unfortunately, NGBS do not all conform to the same structure, and so their regions and counties vary from sport to sport, and do not always correspond exactly with the boundaries of the regional federations.

District & Local Sports Councils
In many Local Authorities, organisations exist which represent voluntary sector sports clubs and associations in that local authority. Generally, they are known as the District (‘Advisory’) Sports Council (although other names are used in some places). Many of these councils are independent and run by the voluntary sector, although some are operated by the local authority as a form of advisory committee, and in a few local authorities both an independent sports council and an advisory committee exist. Some of the larger authorities have several local sports councils as a subsection of the district sports council. For example, the Kirklees district sports council has five affiliated local sports councils, in Batley, Brighouse, Dewsbury, Huddersfield and Mirfield.

Sport at regional level is represented on the Regional Sports Boards by the Regional Federations of Sport. The composition and raison d'être of the regional federations are very similar to that of the Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR), but with a regional rather than national focus. Normally, Regional Federations comprise:

• Regional Sports Governing Bodies
• County or District Sport Governing Bodies
• District and Local Sports Councils (collections of sports clubs, associations and leagues within a single local authority, or local area). Often (but not always), the Local Authority plays a part in the membership and administration of their Sports Council.
• Appropriate other groups (which vary from region to region) e.g. in Yorkshire region members include:

  • Sports Aid
  • Federation of Disability Sports Organisations
  • Women’s Sports Foundation
  • BEMSport

The Federations receive a grant from their Regional Sports Board towards their administrative costs. Each Federation makes its own arrangements for its Secretariat. They are managed by an Executive Committee, elected by the member organisations, normally at an Annual General Meeting.

There are liaison arrangements with the Sport England regional offices to send an observer/liaison officer to meetings of their Regional Federation, and many regions invite CCPR also to be represented. Every regional Federation is affiliated to CCPR.

The effectiveness and vibrancy of the regional Federations varies considerably. Some (notably Yorkshire) are very active and influential in the establishment of regional sports policies. In some regions, there has been an increased tendency to operate on a county by county basis, only coming together as a region infrequently, or of necessity.

Membership of the Regional Federations is by organisation, not by individuals. It is for each member organisation to decide who will represent it at general meetings of the Federation. The Officers and Executive Committee of the Federation are elected by the Federation AGM, and do not represent any particular governing body or other specific organisation. There is no need or requirement for these officials to hold any specific position within a national, regional or county governing body of sport.

SportsAid is a charitable organisation that raises money to support promising young sportsmen and women, and helps them with their training expenses. SportsAid does not support those performers who receive a grant from the Sport England National lottery funded 'World Class' programmes. Instead, they help the next generation, who may become the stars of the future. SportsAid has a regional organisation in each region, which raises money specifically to help talented youngsters in their region. In Yorkshire, the SportsAid programme is well developed and very successful.

English Sports Forum
The Chairs, Vice-Chairs and Secretaries of the Regional Sports Boards meet regularly (3 or 4 times per year), and have constituted the ‘English Sports Forum’. This body (which tends to be dominated by the Local Authorities) is attended by Sport England national staff members, and has had regular contact with the Minister for Sport.

CCPR Regional Federations Committee
The regional federations meet together 3 times each year in the Regional Federations' Committee of CCPR. They are allocated to the Division of Interested Organisations, with observer status at Games and Sports Division. In addition, one of the meetings of the Regional Federations' Committee is held in conjunction with a national conference of regional federations. This conference is hosted by a different region each year, on a rota basis.

Summary
With the development of Regional Assemblies, Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and an increasing emphasis on devolved government, the significance of regional structures is increasing. The political dimension is becoming more important, and CCPR is supporting the Regional Federations to ensure that the needs and views of the voluntary sector are strongly represented in the appropriate regional agencies.

Index of Bodies dealing with Regional Sport in Yorkshire