PRESENT: Ian Bancroft (Vice Chair), Nicola Mead-Batten, Nuria Zolle, Rhian Gibson, Hannah Bruce, Rajma Begum, Martin Hurst, Roisin Connolly, Sanjiv Vedi, Owain Schiavone, Alison Parken
STAFF: Brian Davies (CEO), Emma Wilkins, Graham Williams, Owen Lewis, Joanne Nicholas, Dan Farmer (item 5.3), Wendy Yardley (minutes)
Staff Observers:
External: Stephen Woodfine (Welsh Government)
1. Welcome/Apologies for absence
Vice Chair welcomed all to the meeting. A warm welcome was given to the new Board Members and introductions were made around the room. Apologies were received from Tanni Grey-Thompson because of Parliamentary commitments.
2. Declaration of interests (if new)
AP declared an interest – has been allocated to the Policy Asks group and will also be working with the Senedd. It was agreed that AP would be excused from discussions, if necessary, should any potential conflicts arise.
3. Minutes of the last meetings
3.1 Minutes, Action Log, Decision Trackers & Matters Arising
Minutes agreed as an accurate record and therefore approved. Matters arising from last meeting - item 5.5: Board requested an update on Netball at the February Board.
3.2 Decision Tracker
No actions outstanding.
4. Chair & Executive Report
4.1 Chair & Executive Report SW(25)45
Paper for discussion. The CEO brought attention to a few specific items in the report.
Welsh Government interactions – brief discussion on the Pre-election Public Body Guidance recently issued. The Policy Asks sub-group now have an Impact assessment section for any policy developments, papers or proposals based on the guidance.
Public Health Wales (PHW): Board members are welcome to attend the PHW Board meeting on 28 November, where an MoU will be signed by the two Chairs. There will be a reciprocal invite to a future Sport Wales Board meeting. Â
UK Sport: The CEO, Chair and two Sport System staff will attend the UKSport conference in Leeds in December. British Basketball Federation has gone into voluntary liquidation – the three home nation bodies (Basketball England, Basketball Scotland Basketball Wales), are working in close discussion and liaison on both a short terms emergency measure as well as a long-term proposal.
The Vice Chair noted that he had carried out appraisals and exit interviews with board members and will also discuss the process with the new board members.
A brief discussion was conducted on AI and it was confirmed that internal training with a consultancy was beginning at the end of November.
ACTION: EW TO SHARE AI POLICY WITH BOARD MEMBERS
BOARD NOTED PAPER
5. Policy & Strategy
5.1 Business Plan Update – SW(25)46
A discussion paper. Most aspects of Business Plan on track and a few notable points were highlighted such as the establishment of all 5 Sport Partnerships. Thanks were extended to the key staff that had worked so hard to bring this critical project to this key stage.
Some areas for focus included improvements in the use of data and the requirement to obtain increased cyber security levels. Executive happy to provide any additional details on aspects of the Business plan to Board members at any time. Questions were also asked in relation to the SWNC project - clearly the result of the elections in May will be significant but there is a sub-group scheduled for the new year.
BOARD CONFIRMED ASSURANCE
5.2 Partner Progress and Learning Report SW(25)47
A paper for Assurance and Discussion. JN presented the quarterly summary report based on discussions and updates from around 50 funded partners.. Areas highlighted included the work by partners in disability and inclusion with initiatives such as Welsh Squash inaugural wheelchair championships, plus safer sport programmes similar to the Welsh Athletics “Own the Night” initiative. Board noted the common challenge for partners re-volunteering and discussed potential cross-sector solutions and data sharing opportunities.
BOARD CONFIRMED ASSURANCE
5.3 Presentation: Sport Wales Partner Support – Focus on Institute
Presentation was delivered to the Board by DF (Head of Sport System Institute Services).
6. Finance, Risk & Governance
6.1 Finance Report SW(25)48
A paper for information. The financial position of Sport Wales for the seven months ending 31 October 2025 was noted.
6.2 Medium Term Financial Plan SW(25)49
A paper for decision. EW provided the context that the main objective was to provide Board with an overview of potential financial scenarios over a three-year period and seek approval for the proposed National Lottery Reserves Policy.
The paper sets the scene of the budget planning process. The details in report and appendix are as of date of preparation and could change depending on Government decisions and Lottery income. There are some in-built assumptions on items such as pay award, inflation etc. The scenarios presented do not indicate any significant concerns but provided the basis for discussion and thought.
7. Board Groups & Standing Committee reports
7.1 Composition of Board Groups and Standing Committees SW(25)50
A paper for information.
ACTION: Composition of Board groups – any queries to be discussed with the Chair
BOARD APPROVED PAPER
7.2 Summary of Subgroups - SW(25)51
An information paper that summarised the discussions and decisions of the Board’s sub-group meetings since the previous Board meeting.
Any Other Business
Vice Chair asked the Board to keep the evening of 9 July 2026 free, if possible, as looking to arrange the Board meeting on 10 July in Birmingham to coincide with the International Working Group (IWG) on women in sport Global Summit.
There being no further business, Chair thanked all for attending. Meeting closed at 12:15.
8 Date of next meetings: 20 February 2026, 15 May 2026, 9-10 July 2026 (Birmingham TBC), 18 September 2026, 20 November 2026.
These minutes were approved by the Board at its meeting on 20 February 2026.