The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media, Sport, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, today announced that he intends to make changes to a number of Arm’s Length Bodies which report to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Part of this announcement included his intention to merge Sport England and UK Sport into one body. Details and timings will be consulted on over the summer.

Responding to the announcement, Richard Lewis, Sport England’s Chair, said:

"Today’s statement builds upon the Minister’s previous announcement of the location of UK Sport and Sport England under a single roof.

"While it is too early to say what the further changes will mean, we are clear that any solution must be one which benefits sport as a whole, particularly as we approach the milestone of two years to go until the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"We hope that discussions over the summer with the Government, UK Sport and other Home Country Sports Councils will look at how best to maximise the combined expertise and efficiency of our organisations, while ensuring that our preparations to make the 2012 Games a real success for this country are not disrupted in any way."

For more information, visit the DCMS website