WIREDGOV

Sport England welcomes the Government’s changes to the Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) scheme announced in Parliament yesterday. The changes will be make the scheme simpler and clearer  for sports clubs to understand and it is hoped that this will encourage more of them to apply  to become a CASC and take advantage of the benefits this would offer.

Becoming a CASC can helps grassroots sports clubs to be more financially sustainable by offering reductions in tax burdens similar to charitable organisations. In light of these challenging economic conditions, the CASCs scheme can be a real helping hand for clubs and  could be essential in providing support to those clubs that would otherwise struggle to survive.

Charles Johnston, Property Director at Sport England, said “Volunteers and local clubs are the lifeblood of community sport, at the sharp end of providing facilities and sporting opportunities to millions of regular participants as well as introducing  young people and adults to the basics of sport. Yet we know that financial stability is a major challenge for clubs so we welcome these proposals to provide clarification and awareness of the tax relief that they can benefit from.”

Already some 6,000 clubs have benefited across the UK from the CASC scheme, saving over £100 million in business rates relief alone. It is estimated that up to 40,000  community and voluntary sector sports clubs in England could benefit from becoming a CASC.

In summary, the changes being made to the existing CASC scheme are:

• Clubs will be able to charge annual membership and participation fees (which includes equipment and associated costs of playing a sport) of up to £520 a year.  Where a club charges over £520 provisions must be made for people on lower incomes in order to be considered open to the community
  
• Clubs can charge a maximum annual membership fee of £1,612 or £31 per week and be a CASC but would have to offer a range of concessionary offers to people who wish to participate but can’t afford membership at this level. Examples of these offers include:
  - Open days, taster sessions and lower income packages
  - Free coaching and equipment loan
  - Discounted and concessionary membership fees, possibly including means     tested membership
  - Establish a charitable fund/bursaries to young people who may not be           able to afford membership, coaching and or equipment
  - Advertise all the opportunities and packages available to play at the club
  
• Clubs can and do cross-subsidise using social income in order to offer lower fees to juniors, veterans, disabiled people and people on low incomes. Diversification of club income sources can thus contribute to the lowering of membership fees.
  
• Clubs will be able to financially support players subject to a limit of £10,000 a year per club.
  
• Clubs will be able to pay reasonable travel and subsistence expenses to players where they are participating in away games and club tours.
  
• At least 50 per cent of members must be participating members of the club. 
  
• There will no limit on the amount of income clubs may generate from members but there will be a limit of £100,000 they can generate from trading with non-members. Clubs generating higher levels of income will need to consider setting up a trading subsidiary
  
• Government will extend, for the first time corporate Gift Aid to CASCs. This represents a new source of revenue support for these clubs
  
• The threshold for the exemption from tax for trading income will be increased from £30,000 to £50,000 and for rental income will be increased from £20,000 to £30,000.

The reliefs already offered by CASCs include exemption from 80 per cent of business rates, the right to claim gift aid on individual donations, and corporation tax exemptions of £30,000 for trading and £20,000 for rental income.

Sport England has been working with Government and National Governing Bodies throughout the consultation on CASCs, which opened in March 2013. We believe that  a collaborative approach working with the newly formed HMRC CASC Development Forum to help draft  new guidance will help it succeed in encouraging existing CASCs to remain in the scheme and also get more clubs to register and start making the most of the financial benefits it offers.

Supporting clubs through the Club Leaders programme

Sport England offers help to clubs and volunteers  involved in the day-to-day running of community sports clubs through its Club Leaders programme. It provides free business training and support on a range of topics including business and financial planning, marketing, governance and facilities management.

To date over 2,100 clubs have registered with Club Leaders to access this free support through on-line training, face to face seminars and one to one mentor support. 

Sport England will provide further updates, help and guidance on CASC and associated issues through the Club Leaders programme.  In addition to CASC FAQs, support will include details of how to apply, how to incorporate your club if appropriate and how to set up a trading subsidiary.

To keep up to date on CASC and be able to access this support, or help in general with the business side of running your club, click here and register on the Club Leaders programme today. 

Sustainable sports clubs at the heart of legacy

Grassroots sport is at at the heart of the nation’s plans for a sporting legacy following the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London, and healthy, financially sustainable sports clubs are vital if these ambitions are to be realised.

Sport England is the Government agency working with grassroots sport. Our overall ambition is to increase the number of people playing sport regularly, keep them playing regularly and improve talent development. We will achieve this by strategically investing over £1 billion of Exchequer and National Lottery funding by 2017.