Finance Act 2002

Open to the whole community

2 (1) A club is open to the whole community if—

(a) membership of the club is open to all without discrimination,

(b) the facilities of the club are available to members without discrimination, and

(c) any fees are set at a level that does not pose a significant obstacle to membership or use of the club’s facilities.

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) “discrimination” includes indirect discrimination and includes, in particular—

(a) discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or beliefs;

(b) discrimination on grounds of sex, age or disability, except as a necessary consequence of the requirements of a particular sport.

(3) This paragraph does not prevent a club from having different classes of membership depending on—

(a) the age of the member;

(b) whether the member is a student;

(c) whether the member is waged or unwaged;

(d) whether the member is a playing or a non-playing member;

(e) how far from the club the member lives;

(f) any restriction on the days or times when the member has access to the club’s facilities.