CCPG Review Board Statement

CCPG Review Board Statement | 1 September 2023

The objective of the Competition Climbing Performance Group (CCPG) Review was to report on the performance of the CCPG since its inception on 9th April 2020 through to 29th September 2022. The review identified a number of issues with the processes, the culture and the approach within GB Climbing (GBC). The Board fully accepts that changes are required and has, since receiving the report, been working on implementing changes.

The CCPG Review identified broad areas of concern and areas for improvement across seven themes:

1. Safeguarding and risk;

2. Financial Management;

3. Communication;

4. Commercial Contract Management;

5. Governance;

6. Partners; and

7. GBC and CCPG

The CCPG Review also suggested that changes be made to the existing CCPG Terms of Reference (ToR), to ensure clarity, to support the function of CCPG and to ensure that appropriate oversight could occur.

The Members Council acknowledged that changes and improvements have and are being made, but urged the Board to go ‘further and faster’ to support and encourage the cultural changes within the BMC and GBC; ensuring that our National Governing Body (NGB) functions are delivered effectively and in line with our responsibilities to all our members and our role as National Representative Body (NRB) for the wider community of hillwalkers, climbers and mountaineers.

The subsequent Board Task & Finish Group (T&F Group) highlighted that several of the areas of concern and the resulting recommendations made, were likely to be the result of the current ToR for CCPG being too broad. It went further than the CCPG Review Group in recommending that the board considered reviewing the scope of CCPG and then amend the TOR accordingly, at the same time the relationship of CCPG to GBC and the BMC should be made clearer. It recommended these questions be answered as a priority and that work be conducted by the CEO and chair of CCPG, of which a significant amount has been completed resulting in new ToR and Schedule of Delegation which is now going through consultation.

CCPG Review Timeline

The CCPG review was commissioned in April 2022 and presented to the Board Chair in December 2022. The subsequent timeline was as follows:

• 24 Dec 2022  CCPG Report Provided to Board Chair
• 9 Jan 2023 Reports circulated to Board
• 9 Feb  CCPG Report reviewed by Board – Decision to form T&F Group, including external expert (ex Royal Yachting Association) as Chair.  To report back in next Board Meeting.
• 22 Mar CCPG Review T&F Group Report presented to Board – Decision, to accept reports finding, subject to “CEO and CCPG Chair to prepare a plan on how the BMC can deliver both the performance and grassroots side of competition climbing for the May meeting.”
• 11 May Board Proposal following CCPG Review accepted by Board.  CEO requested to engage with key partners to develop an implementation plan.
• 2 Jun All past and present members of CCPG contacted to review the Report and provide any clarifications or questions on the report and its findings.
• 20 Jun  Comments forwarded to CCPG Review Team requesting they “1. review and comment on the comments [received] 2.  Amend your report where you feel appropriate, or articulate why you do not feel a change is necessary.”
• 26 Jul  CCPG Review team provided final report to Chair of Board & President requesting that the report is published as soon as possible.
• 2 Aug  Board approve release of report after Senior and Youth World Championships.
• 6 Aug  Report shared with Members Council

Progress

With regards to some of the key areas of concern and areas for improvement highlighted by the review, the following progress has been made:

Safeguarding

There have been significant changes and improvements in safeguarding since the employment of a full time Safeguarding Officer in September 2022. The release of new safeguarding policies in September 2023 will further enhance safeguarding across both the NGB and NRB functions of the BMC.

The Board wishes to reiterate the following principles:

1. It is the responsibility of anyone involved in any of our activities (athletes, parents, members, volunteers and staff) to report any safeguarding concerns to the BMC.
2. With regard to competition climbing, reporting a genuine safeguarding concern will never affect any individuals’ selection for national representation either on a GB Team/Squad or in a volunteer role.  Disciplinary action would be taken were this to happen.
3. Anyone reporting a concern should be reassured that this can be done confidentially and that all safeguarding concerns are investigated and, if necessary, escalated for review by the expert volunteers in the Case Management Team – who will decide if the concern warrants further actions being taken. These actions could range from further investigation to immediate action to impose a sanction, some of these actions may be visible, for example in the updating of policies and procedures, but due to the needs of confidentiality other actions may not.

The BMC board regularly review the number concerns raised and their progress towards resolution.

Financial Management

Over the last 12 months there has been significant work undertaken to introduce better financial reporting and management across the whole of the BMC. This is providing enhanced financial control, reducing the risk in all parts of the BMC.

With specific respect to CCPG & GBC, the role of CCPG in reviewing and approving GBC budgets and spending has been improved, and the Board are working with the Chair of CCPG to ensure this delivers an appropriate level of oversight whilst retaining the legal accountability and responsibilities of the CEO as the Accountable Officer for all UK Sport (UKS) and Sport England contracts.

Contract and Procurement Management

Processes and procedures have been reviewed and the Board are now satisfied that our procurement policies and procedures are appropriately delivered for all contracts with third parties, partners and athletes.

With respect to the procurement of Unit E (the GBC performance facility in Sheffield), the review has highlighted a number of outstanding questions and therefore a Director has been appointed to identify whether a more detailed assessment would be beneficial. If necessary, this would be done by an independent party.  It is recognised this has taken longer to reach a conclusion than the Board would like, but the intention is to reach a conclusion within the next three months.

Communications

Since his appointment as Chair of CCPG in September 2022 Paul Ratcliffe has taken several steps to address the obvious communication issues both with the Board and with the athletes, coaches and parents.  This has included establishing much clearer communication channels, and ensuring that athlete and where appropriate parent voice is brought into the CCPG. Their participation in developing the 2024 selection policies, is a visible and very welcome first step in ensuring athletes always remain at the heart of GBC objectives and actions.

While the Board recognises that improvements are being made, there remains significant work to achieve the open dialogue that we desire and that is required to ensure GBC is central to a world class performance pathway within the UK.  We ask the community to work constructively with Paul Ratcliffe, the CCPG and GBC to develop this dialogue particularly by engaging in the listening sessions with coaches, athletes, parents and partners which will be run later this year.

Governance and the future of CCPG

It is clear that the very broad original remit of the CCPG along with the way that it was originally constituted, has meant that the CCPG has not been able to meet the many demands within its ToR and consequently the expectations of the community.

The Board is clear that the structure of the CCPG needs to change to allow the full scope of all structured competition in the UK to be appropriately overseen, from grassroots to elite, but also to include all structured competitive activity within the sports for which the BMC is the NGB.

The Board agreed that a separation of oversight role, between all GB related competitive activity (to include both able bodied and Para disciplines within Sport, Ice and SkiMo) and grassroots and recreative competition would be beneficial, and an initial proposal for a revised and strengthened structure was drafted in May. Board approved the creation of a GB Performance Group to focus specifically on GB related competitive activity and supported the concept of additional volunteer led ‘Commissions’ to support grassroots and recreative competition in each of the sports; provided the changes were implemented as a wholistic approach. Initial consultation on these ‘Commissions’ has indicated that there is support for the concept, but it also identified that much more consultation is required to arrive at a structure that will serve the community in the way that we wish to. UK Sport have offered to provide partnership support to this consultation, which will allow us to bring together the wide range of partners and stakeholders that we need to work collaboratively with to develop a shared structure. This is something that we anticipate starting in October this year, with a desire to bring a proposal to Board in early 2024 to be implemented ahead of the start of the LA 2028 Olympic Cycle.

What will 2024 look like?

While there have been improvements between 2022 and 2023, CCPG and the Board recognise that there remain significant challenges for CCPG and GBC in the short term.  GBC will be focussed on ensuring that everything we do in 2024 is done well and in consultation with the athletes and those who support them.

Planning for 2024 and beyond will start with the proposed listening sessions and we will have an agreed plan for 2024 by November with the future plan aligned to the bid process for UK Sport grant funding for the LA 2028 cycle. We will ensure that athletes always remain at the heart of GB Climbing objectives and actions and will clearly communicate what they can expect of GB Climbing in 2024 and in future years.

The sport of competition climbing is developing at pace, both nationally and internationally, and we have stated our ambition to be a world-leading climbing nation. It is a journey we are all on, we accept there will be challenges, and that we are unlikely to get everything right first time. We are, however, committed to working together with the community on this shared journey, to continue to develop our athlete-focussed performance infrastructure, to support our athletes to achieve their ambitions, and in turn realise this aim.

DOWNLOAD: CCPG Review Recommendations Overview

DOWNLOAD: CCPG Final Report