The proportion of black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) athletes being funded by UK Sport falls below the national average, according to data published by the elite sport quango.

Over the year ending 31 March 2016, UK Sport funded 1,268 athletes, only 10 per cent of which came from Asian, black or mixed/other backgrounds, with the former making up only one per cent of athletes represented.

While the proportion falls short of the national BAME population of 13 per cent of the total UK population, the figure is an improvement on the eight per cent who were funded by the arms-length body over 2014/15.

Funded white athletes made up 87 per cent of the 1,268, while those who didn’t want to disclose or specify made up one per cent and two per cent respectively.

Elsewhere in the organisation’s annual report, the proportion of funded disabled athletes grew by one percentage point to 27 per cent, while the number of female athletes funded by UK Sport over the year fell by the same proportion to 44 per cent.

UK Sport improved its workforce representation over the year, doubling the proportion of BAME staff to 12 per cent over 2015/16, up from six per cent over the previous 12 months. However, the proportion of disabled staff remained flat at two per cent.

The cost of staff leapt by 13.2 per cent from £6.8m (US$8.9m, €8m) to £7.7m (US$10m, €9.1m) over the year due to an increase in wages and service costs. Outgoing performance director Simon Timson – who is leaving to join the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) – received the highest remuneration of all the executives with a pay packet of £190,000 (US$247,748, €223,679) for 2015/16, although this was down on the £200,000 (US$260,787, €235,451) he earned over the same period last year.

Ethnic representation on UK Sport’s board was still low, with Neil Chugani representing the only member with BAME heritage out of the 10, although half of the board is female.

UK Sport – together with Sport England – is putting together a Sport Governance Code in which it is expected to stress the importance of creating diverse boards at national governing body (NGBs) level.