UK Sport has published its 2007 Annual Review, which aims to provide a detailed account of the agency’s key projects within the UK and abroad.

In terms of delivering world-class performance, the report cited the fact that British athletes won 42 medals in the World Championship competition in Olympic disciplines in 2007, with 12 of those being gold. The UK’s Paralympic athletes also won a total of 46 medals last year.

Regarding UK Sport’s attempt at increasing Britain’s worldwide sporting impact – which was the aim of hosting events such as the Tour De France Grand Depart and the European Indoor Athletics Championships – the report found that 2007 was the most successful year to date, with 19 major events hosted in the UK.

As Britain’s appointed national anti-doping agency, UK Sport is responsible for ensuring compliance among sports bodies with the World Anti-Doping Code. It completed more than 7,000 tests in 2007, 55 per cent of which were out of competition.

John Steele, UK Sport chief executive, said: “Change is very much the theme of this review. We have reviewed our structures, to ensure that we are operationally best placed to maximise the impact of our funding and responsibilities at the front line.

“We have delivered a comprehensive people development programme for staff across all areas of the business, which recognises our need to constantly improve and ensure we remain focused on delivering everything we do against our values of ‘Commitment to Excellence’, ‘Integrity & Openess’ and ‘Working Together’.

UK Sport was established by the Royal Charter in 1997, and is responsible for managing and distributing public investment and is a statutory distributor of funds raised by the National Lottery. Details: www.uksport.gov.uk