UK: A Code for Sports Governance

A Code for Sports Governance was published earlier this week by UK Sport and Sport England: see here. The Code, which applies to organisations receiving funding from UK Sport and Sport England, is divided into principles and requirements. The requirements of the Code are mandatory and are found in three tiers (tier 1 representing the minimum level to be reached; tier 3 the highest level).

UK: BEIS committee corporate governance inquiry - publication of written submissions

The House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (formerly the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee) launched a wide ranging corporate governance inquiry in September. Written submissions were invited, the deadline for which closed last month. The Committee has started to publish the responses on the inquiry website, noting that a lot of interest has been generated and a much larger number of submissions than usual were received: see here.

UK: The Parker Review on the Ethnic Diversity of UK Boards

The Parker Review yesterday published its report on the ethnic diversity of UK boards: see here (pdf). The report found that 8% of the 1,087 FTSE100 director positions were held by directors of colour, with seven companies accounting for over one third of these directors. Over half (53) of FTSE100 boards do not have any directors of colour. The report makes a number of recommendations including that all FTSE100 boards should have at least one director of colour by 2021. The same recommendation is made for FTSE250 boards but with a 2024 deadline.

South Africa: King IV Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa

The Institute of Directors in Southern Africa and King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa published the King IV Report and Code yesterday: see here (pdf). King IV adopts "apply and explain" and has, therefore, moved away from "apply or explain". A press summary is available here.

UK: The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Ring-fenced Bodies, Core Activities, Excluded Activities and Prohibitions) (Amendment) Order 2016

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Ring-fenced Bodies, Core Activities, Excluded Activities and Prohibitions) (Amendment) Order 2016 was made last week and comes into force on December 1. The Order makes eighteen amendments to the ring-fencing regime, in order to address various issues that have arisen as banks make the structural changes demanded by the new regime. An overview of each of these amendments is available in the explanatory memorandum accompanying the Order: see here (pdf).