Appointments to the board of UK Sport
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has appointed Mel Young as the Scottish Member and George Lucas as Northern Ireland Member of UK Sport. UK Sport is the government agency responsible for investing in Olympic and Paralympic sport in the United Kingdom. It is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. Mr Young's term is for three years from 1 December 2020 to 30 November 2023 and Mr Lucas begins his terms from 22 June 2020 to 31 January 2021.
About Mel Young
Mel Young MBE is the President and co-founder of the Homeless World Cup, an organisation established to use sport as a mechanism to create change. He is a globally-recognised social entrepreneur, who co-founded The Big Issue in Scotland in 1993, the International Network of Street Papers (INSP) in 1995 and Social Entrepreneurs Network Scotland (Senscot) in 1999.
He is a Schwab Fellow of the World Economic Forum, was named a Senior Fellow by Ashoka in 2014 and is the recipient of the 2016 Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award. Mel is Chair of sportscotland, the National Agency for Sport.
About George Lucas
George Lucas has operated at Board level for over 30 years. He held the roles of Managing Director of Corus Steel Ireland and Chair of Steel Company of Ireland during a long and successful career in the industry. Formerly Chair of the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI), he is also a past Chair of the Ulster Branch of Tennis Ireland.
A strong believer in the lifelong benefits from participation in sport and physical recreation, keen sportsman George currently plays tennis for Ireland at Veterans level and has competed in 14 International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Team Championships.
About the UK Sport Role
The role is remunerated at £218 per day. This reappointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments, the process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Mr Young and Mr Lucas have not declared any activity.
For further information about UK Sport visit https://www.uksport.gov.uk/
