WYS is one of 49 CSPs in England. Originally founded by the five West Yorkshire local authorities to implement Active Sports, it has grown into an extensive sub-regional partnership and network of organisations and groups delivering a wide range of programmes and activities.

Due to the change in the emphasis and nature of funding from Sport England, the Partnership Board was keen to ascertain whether it could operate as a more sustainable structure offering services to a broader range of providers.

There are other examples of CSPs set up as independent legal organisations; Greater (Manchester) Sport, WesSport, Lincolnshire and Sussex; but was a similar approach right for West Yorkshire Sport?

KKP evaluated the following options:

• A re-enforced hosted arrangement, within which services both purchased and received in kind from the host organisation are valued and audited (current position).
• A company limited by guarantee (CLG) - with or without charitable status.
• A community interest company (CIC).
• Becoming part of an already established independent organisation.

We weighed up the advantages and disadvantages of each against the current arrangement covering both technical aspects of a potential change of status: the implications for finance, human resources and governance arrangements and the potential benefits in the context of other funding and contractual partner perceptions.

Following on from KKP's feasibility study, West Yorkshire Sport applied to transfer to an incorporated non-profit distributing organisation.
Following legal advice it is likely that this new organisation will be a charitable Company Limited by Guarantee.

If approved,a small number of Directors will set up the holding company to enable transfer to take place. The eligible staff will be transferred through the TUPE process. A provisional date of July 1st, 2011 has been set following advice from the Council legal and HR sections.