MR MATTHEW READER, MR JOHN SCOTT AND MS ALLISON HOLLOWAY

19 JULY 2006

  Q100  Dr Iddon: Finally, when this money comes from Government, and Mathew has just mentioned a figure, who does it come down to and who is responsible for its distribution?

  Mr Scott: UK Sport receives the money for what we call the performance pathway, and so all the money that is intended to take us from talent identification hopefully to podium success is managed through UK Sport. Obviously in the home countries—Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—there are different arrangements, but there is now what is called the institute network, so there is a lot of cooperation between the institutes and the sharing of knowledge.

  Q101  Chairman: Can I finish with a couple of questions? We thank you very much this morning for the very frank way in which you have responded to our questions. I got the impression that you are running a very sophisticated and effective organisation within the current rules. You are very good at detecting what is out there and being able actually to deal with it. I think the whole committee would join me in complimenting you on that. There is one thing I have not got from you, if I am honest. Really this inquiry is trying to look ahead and see what UK Sport and the Government are doing in order to make sure that by 2012 we are ahead of the game rather than reacting to the game. You will say if that is an unfair criticism later. For instance, in answer to Brian Iddon's question about legal HETs, Matthew talked about this third stream of money that was coming from the Chancellor, but you were talking about what we are doing now, applying the biomechanics, the nutritional standards or the physiology development that we know now to our athletes. I think what Brian Iddon was getting at and what I would like to get at is: what are we doing looking forward? What investments are we making going forward? John, when you answered about gene therapy, you said it might or might not be there but we really do not know. We should know, should we not, because we know that in medical science there are huge developments being made in terms of gene therapy? It will not be in sports science where this occurs; it will be in medical science and we will pinch those ideas and take them forward. Do you ever speak to the MRC, for instance? Do you design research programmes with MRC looking forward? Do we do that on a European or world level? Do we do the forward-thinking research to make sure that by the time they start to apply these techniques, we are actually ahead of you?

  Mr Scott: Chairman, if that is a criticism implied or other, I am absolutely happy to accept that. We, as an organisation, have had our work cut out in the last two years modernising our systems, bringing in a code that has just transformed the sporting landscape. Understandably, I think you will agree, we have had to deal with the here and now. You are absolutely right to say that we have to do more about thinking into the future, and I accept that fully. I think we must not underestimate the amount that there is out there and that in some small degree we are contributing to that, not least through the international networks that we are engaged with that. I have mentioned the Association of National Anti-Doping Organisations where this stuff is debated regularly. The International Anti-Doping Agreement is debated regularly. There is a Science Committee within the Council of Europe, which monitors the European Convention. We send representatives to that. These sorts of issues are debated regularly there. There are forums where, hopefully, the intelligence that is needed to map out how we begin to address these is being put together. I accept a criticism that we are not as actively engaged in it as perhaps we should be, but that is something we will now come to, having got the code in place and operating.

  Q102  Chairman: My point is that HBO arrived and we reacted to it and where is that intelligence? Thank you for that. It would be useful if you could let us know what plans you have to coordinate that forward thinking.

  Mr Scott: We are very happy to do that. We will share with you what our plans are, particularly for this research group, because that is central to this.

  Q103  Chairman: This is the first time we have heard that.

  Mr Scott: It is a new idea. We are beginning to put that in place.

  Q104  Chairman: What is its budget and who will be on that?

  Mr Scott: We can do that.

  Q105  Chairman: My last question is on that theme too. Do you look outside the box, particularly if we take the military? Some of the most advanced thinking is going on in terms of human enhancement technologies within the military. It is useful for your troops to be able to stay awake for 36 or 48 hours to be able to perform at maximum capacity for longer periods of time. Do you look at what is happening with the military, both in the UK, the States and elsewhere, in order to pick up their ideas?

  Mr Scott: That is a very good point.

  Ms Holloway: There is work going on in the area of nutrition and health maintenance and things like that, and there is work being done with the military and with experts working within the military on how they treat the soldiers. There are some links there.

  Mr Scott: Again, I think that is an area where we need to look again at the composition of this research group so that we are getting access perhaps to some of that knowledge. That is something we can certainly look into.

  Chairman: On that note, may I thank you very much, John Scott, Alison Holloway and Matthew Reader, for your evidence this morning. This is the last evidence session on this subject.