Flintshire County Council Chief Officer appointed to board of Sport Wales

The Welsh Government has appointed Flintshire County Council Chief Officer Ian Bancroft to the board of ‘beleaguered’ Sport Wales along with three other new board members and a new vice chair.

Public Health Minister, Rebecca Evans has appointed Pippa Britton as Vice Chair of Sport Wales, she is the current Chair of Disability Sport Wales and a former international athlete.

The Minister has appointed four new members to the board – Ashok Ahir, Christian Malcolm Alison Thorne and Ian Bancroft, Chief Officer for Organisational Change at Flintshire County Council.

They will commence their term of office on 1 October 2017 for a three year period with Sport Wales, the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales.

Sport Wales is also the main adviser on sporting matters to the Welsh Government and is responsible for distributing National Lottery funds to both elite and grassroots sport in Wales.

Ian Bancroft is responsible for all leisure and cultural services in Flintshire as well as leading work to build community resilience.

He has previously been a Director of Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust and Business and Strategy Manager for Nottingham City Council’s Leisure Services.

He has a background in sports performance and coaching having completed a sports science degree at Loughborough University and working as a Coach Tutor.

Shadow Secretary for Economy & Sport, Russell George, said the appointments were encouraging and expressed optimism that the new team at Sport Wales could now start to “unravel” some of the problems left behind by predecessors.

He said:

“These are encouraging appointments, and it is good to see people with the right kind of experience and background being brought in to turn things around.

A huge amount of reputational damage has been done to Sport Wales in recent years and we need to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself.

The public will want reassurance that Sport Wales is fit for purpose and I am hopeful that the new team can start to unravel some of the issues left behind by predecessors and get it focusing on the vital role it plays in Welsh society, promoting sport and healthy, active lifestyles.”