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Plans For New National Anti-Doping Organisation Announced

DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT News Release (151/0) issued by The Government News Network on 5 December 2007

JOINT DCMS/UK SPORT PRESS RELEASE

New body set to lead 2012 doping crackdown

The Government has today welcomed recommendations from UK Sport to modernise the UK's approach to anti-doping, leading to the creation of an independent National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) with far reaching new powers. The body will be established in time to lead the fight against doping in sport in the build up to London 2012.

The recommendations are the result of a comprehensive six-month review carried out by a Working Group comprising members of UK Sport's Board and Staff, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Key aspects of the recommendations are that the new NADO for the UK should:

* Have stronger, more effective partnerships with law enforcement agencies to fight the trafficking and supply of prohibited substances;

* Take responsibility for decisions about whether or not an athlete has committed a doping offence, and have the authority to present cases to a disciplinary panel, responsibilities that currently sit with the national governing bodies of sport.

More details on the new NADO will follow in the New Year, with it being fully operational well before 2012.

Minister for Sport, Gerry Sutcliffe welcomed the recommendations, saying:

"Establishing a new, independent anti-doping organisation is a natural evolution in the fight against drugs in sport.

"In the same way drug cheats are constantly finding new ways to beat the system, we have to constantly look at what we do to catch them. We have to ensure they have no place to hide and these new powers, implemented by an independent agency, will help us do that.

"This comes on the back of the work I have been leading across Government to tackle the supply and trafficking of doping substances and the revised World Anti-Doping Code that we supported in Madrid last month. By 2012 drug cheats will never have had it so bad.

"We will now work with UK Sport who will lead the consultation with the sports community to look at the details of exactly how the new independent NADO will function and what needs to be in place to deliver that. UK Sport will report back by the spring."

Sue Campbell, Chair of UK Sport, said the proposed changes will have a huge impact on the way anti-doping is tackled in the UK:

"I don't think anyone doubts the quality of UK Sport's work to date in anti-doping, both in terms of testing and particularly education. However, these recommendations reflect the experience to date of UK Sport, and that the global fight against doping in sport is changing. The small minority of athletes who are determined to cheat are increasingly sophisticated in the ways in which they go about their business, as are the people that supply and manipulate them, and we need to ensure we adapt our approach accordingly.

"The changes proposed will allow the UK's NADO to address such people properly for the first time. In addition, giving it control over the distribution of tests across all sports, and the power to decide whether or not an athlete has a case to answer when accused of an anti-doping rule violation will continue to ensure a robust system is in place for the future. Once the new NADO is established it will be absolutely right to continue to review its functions and when a change to more legislative authority might be required."

The recommendations build on the positive changes and developments already made by UK Sport since the creation of the World Anti Doping Code in 2004 and particularly with recent initiatives over the past year. For example, in July UK Sport announced the establishment of an independent National Anti-Doping Panel to hear doping cases on behalf of national governing bodies, whilst in November a Working Group was set up to consider how law enforcement agencies can work with UK Sport to combat doping in sport. Campbell stated that the expanded role of the NADO as a result of such changes meant it was inevitable that the body should sit outside its current position within UK Sport:

"The separation of the NADO operation from UK Sport is essentially a result of the other recommendations," she said. "We feel it wouldn't be possible to gain maximum impact from the proposed new investigation, results management and case presentation powers whilst it remains where it is. The scale of this type of operation, particularly in terms of the single focus required, simply means that the role of the NADO has outgrown its current position within UK Sport."

Notes to Editors

* A summary of the Working Group recommendation is available to download via the UK Sport website - http://www.uksport.gov.uk

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