Decision details

(1)      Support for the continued delivery of the European Athletics Championships 2026 through the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund contribution as agreed by WMCA Board on 17 March 2023 and in light of the subsequent changes to the full business case agreed by the Investment Board on 18 June 2023 was agreed.

(2)      The request from Birmingham City Council to repurpose £3m allocated for the Grassroots Sports Programme towards the European Athletics Championships’ direct delivery costs was agreed, and the associated impact on community benefit was noted.

(3)      Support for the re-profiling of £4.5m expenditure from 2023/24 into 2024/25 was agreed, subject to Government approval, noting that all funds were still required to be spent by 31 March 2025 in line with the terms and conditions set out in the funding agreement between the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and the WMCA.

(4)      An additional £600,000 of Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund funding generated from underspend within the Sandwell Aquatic programme was agreed to be used towards the projected £2.2m shortfall in the current European Athletics Championships direct delivery budget, noting that this was not in line with the prior directions of the WMCA Board or the process for allocation of underspends agreed by the WMCA Board on 17 March 2023 and so was outside of officer delegations.

(5)      It was noted that the proposed joint venture for delivery of the European Athletics Championships would be between Birmingham City Council and UK Athletics with no formal legal role for the WMCA, which included no financial underwrite commitment, recognising however, as a condition, the strong involvement and support of the WMCA and all of its members.

(6)      Final sign-off of the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund funding agreement between Birmingham City Council and the WMCA was delegated to the Executive Director of Strategy, Economy & Net Zero, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer, and any such agreement would reflect the grant conditions imposed on the WMCA by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, together with any additional conditions deemed necessary to safeguard the WMCA’s position.

(7)      The Executive Director of Finance & Business Hub was requested to explore whether it was possible to bolster the Inclusive Communities Fund by £3m to replace the Grassroots Sports Programme element of the European Athletics Championships funding packages agreed by the WMCA Board on 17 March 2023.