- Written by Haydn Parry
- BBC Sports NI
Sport NI interim CEO Richard Archibald reacts to £1m spending shortfall
Sport NI has been £500,000 under budget in each of the past two years, resulting in £1m being returned to the Department for Communities, but interim chief executive Richard Archibald said the result was “disappointing”. he admitted.
Sport NI is a publicly funded organization working to encourage people in Northern Ireland to take part in sport and physical activity, as well as supporting athletes at elite level.
The charity, which receives funding from both the government and the National Lottery, was recently deemed struggling following a review by its parent department.
Minutes of Sport NI’s board of directors state that last year representatives from the Department for Communities criticized “Sport NI’s track record in the areas of governance, financial management and delivery” and that the organization had been “considered a risk by the Department for Communities”. It provides a summary of how the opinion was expressed. Audit Committee. “
Confirming the £1 million underspend, a Department for Communities spokesperson told BBC Sport: “Easements cannot be carried over from one financial year to the next, so Sport NI’s £1 million “The easement was used to respond to pressure from other ministries at the time.”
In response, Sport NI’s interim chief executive Archibald told BBC Sport: “It’s a real shame, because if you had £1m you’d want to spend £1m.”
“We recognize that our resources are relatively limited and there are huge pressures across the public sector. However, we are working seriously to provide more funding to more sports. I’m here.
“Only 53% of business plan goals achieved in 2023.”
“We learned that COVID-19 may change the way we do things, and we have developed a more responsive program.
“As we return to business as usual after the pandemic and emergency ways of working, we wanted to incorporate more of these practices.
“So there was a change in emphasis and focus in some of the programs that we had run over the years in some cases, and in the process they were not utilized as fully as we would have liked.”
Last year, Sport NI achieved only 53% of its business plan targets and the business plan was not approved before the start of the new financial year and was delayed by six months.
Additionally, we are currently working on paying off outstanding National Lottery accounts. The last audit certified by the Comptroller and Auditor General was in 2015-2016.
“Ten years ago, there was a time when both our lottery and treasury accounts had a backlog building up,” Archibald explained.
“Lottery accounts are difficult because they have to go through both the Northern Ireland Voice Authority and the National Audit Office, but we submitted our 2015-6 accounts to Parliament in September and by the end of the year We plan to complete three more sets of accounts.” We are working hard to keep them up to date.
“Our current focus is on leadership and a lot of work has been done over the last two years to ensure that we deliver that, without disrupting support to governing bodies and sporting clubs, and “We’ve made sure that we have more support, more resources to access more sports, more funding.”
The turmoil at Sport NI between 2014 and 2017, which included the suspension, sacking and subsequent reinstatement of chief executive Antoinette McCune, is estimated to have cost the public purse £1.5 million.
This year marks its 50th anniversary, and Sport NI has been looking to move on from the tumultuous past decade.
In 2015, the board of directors was asked to discuss an internal report regarding “serious allegations” about the organization’s “leadership, management and overall culture” ahead of a meeting with then Sports Minister Karal Ní Chuilin. Nine of the 14 members resigned. Chairman Brian Henning and vice-chairman Ian McAvoy will also resign.
That same year, CEO Antoinette McCune was suspended and subsequently fired on suspicion of serious misconduct.
An independent appeals panel later quashed the charges, citing flaws in the disciplinary process, and McCune was reinstated to work in July 2017.
Four years ago, a damning report by the Northern Ireland Audit Office during this period found an estimated £1.5m loss to the public purse.
McCune is currently absent.
Archibald, a former rower who competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics, has been with Sport NI for 15 years and has been interim CEO for the past five months.
Asked about Mr McCune’s current absence, he told BBC Sport: “It is not appropriate to comment on personnel matters that relate to individual staff matters.
“The important thing is that I’m CEO now and I’m really well supported. I have strong relationships with the board and the community sector.”
Asked about its continued relationship with the independent organization, a Department for Communities spokesperson said: “The Department continues to work with Sport NI’s board and management to ensure that appropriate governance frameworks are in place to address risks at all levels. “We are working hard to ensure that it is run internally,” he said. and to enable organizations to deliver positive outcomes for sport. ”