The Government has announced that it will be launching a public consultation on the Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) scheme.
The scheme has been of huge value to community sports clubs since it was introduced in 2002, and to date it has provided a total cash benefit of around £135 million to the 6,334 registered CASCs.
The Government has emphasised that it fully supports the scheme and is keen to listen to the views of stakeholders on how the existing CASC legislation can be clarified and, where possible, improved.
The consultation will focus on issues such as levels of membership fees, social income, travel expenses and payments to players.
The consultation will focus on:
- The maximum annual fee (to include the costs of participation) which a club can charge and still be considered a CASC. HMRC has made clear CASCs will be able to charge more than the maximum fee providing measures are in place to allow people on low incomes to participate.
- An update on the rules and limits for CASCs on generating income from social and non-sporting activities in order to provide clarity.
- Proposals for more generous rules for travel expenses, and changes to allow clubs to make limited payments to players.
Tim Lamb, chief executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance, said:
"Encouragingly, it seems as though the Government is planning to adopt a fairly flexible approach that will enable many clubs to benefit from the CASC scheme.
"Following almost two years of lobbying and technical discussions, led by the Alliance, this represents a positive opportunity for sport to make its voice heard on the future direction of CASCs.
"It is a clear indication that the current legislation defining the scheme is not as good as it should be and various outstanding technical issues need to be addressed.
"Hopefully, by the autumn, sports bodies will be able to promote a reinvigorated, clearer and more flexible CASC scheme."
It is important that clubs, governing bodies and other interested parties embrace this opportunity and positively engage with the consultation.
The Alliance will be helping to co-ordinate sport’s response and will provide guidance on how to reply to the consultation once it has been published.
Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) scheme Written Ministerial Statement.
For further information on CASCs contact David Foster.
For media enquiries contact Libby Jellie.
