Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Official Report 1029KB pdf

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Dewars Centre

The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-08199, in the name of Murdo Fraser, on the Dewars centre in Perth. The debate will be concluded without any question being put. I invite members who wish to participate in the debate to press their request-to-speak button or to put the necessary indication in the chat function if they are joining us online.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament notes the concerns raised by Scottish Curling that the potential closure of the Dewars Centre, in Perth, would be the death knell of a legacy of curling in Perthshire dating back decades; notes the belief that, if this proposal goes ahead, it would mean that the town and county with which curling is most closely associated has made a choice to de-prioritise the success of legends such as Rhona Howie, Eve Muirhead, David Murdoch and numerous others, all of whom have a strong connection between Perth and the Dewars Centre and their Olympic and World Championships successes; further notes that the Dewars Centre has a history of supporting grassroots curling, and the potential to enable critical growth and to play a central role in tackling isolation, reducing barriers to inequality, and ensuring that inclusion and a sense of community are at the heart of sport in Perth, and notes the calls for Live Active Leisure and Perth and Kinross Council to reach a decision that would enable the Dewars Centre to be retained.

17:18  

I start by thanking members from across the chamber who signed my motion to allow this matter to be debated in the Scottish Parliament. Although my motion focuses on the future of the Dewars centre in Perth, curling has a reach right across Scotland and the issues that affect the Dewars centre affect many other venues in different parts of the country.

It might seem strange to debate a sport that is played on ice on one of the warmest days of the year so far, but curling is a real Scottish success story. It is a sport in which Scotland excels, with Olympic gold medal-winning teams and world championship winners in the men’s and women’s sections in recent times. The 2022 women’s curling gold medal-winning team at the winter Olympics was led by Eve Muirhead, whose home rink was Dewars. As a consequence of that victory, the whole team was awarded the freedom of Perth and Kinross by the council.

Curling is a success story, not just for those at the elite end of the sport. It is a pastime that is enjoyed by many thousands of people across the country, and it is popular with the older generation, who can continue playing when other sports become more difficult. There is also an important social aspect to the sport, because it helps to tackle loneliness and isolation, again particularly among older members of society. However, it would be wrong to characterise curling as a sport that is just for older people. There is a growing interest among young people, which has been fostered at Dewars and other rinks across the country.

However, curling will have a future only if there are facilities that can host it. We have a network of curling rinks across the country, but the Dewars centre is regarded as the Hampden park of the sport, hosting national tournaments as well as providing a regular playing venue for locals. In addition, the Dewars centre hosts indoor bowling and provides space for a range of exhibitions, conferences and other events.

The Dewars centre is owned and operated by Live Active Leisure Ltd, an arm’s-length organisation that is wholly owned by Perth and Kinross Council but has an independent board to manage it. Live Active Leisure also operates the adjacent Perth leisure pool, the Bell’s sports centre on the North Inch in Perth and a range of other community sporting facilities across the county.

Just a few months ago, the future of the Dewars centre was very uncertain. There were real concerns that it might face closure. As with many similar venues, it has seen substantial increases in operating costs, particularly in energy, and a drop-off in user numbers since Covid. Live Active Leisure now has an annual deficit of some £600,000. It has managed to keep facilities open for a further year by dipping into reserves, but that is clearly not a sustainable funding model for the future.

The ultimate owners of the leisure facilities are Perth and Kinross Council but, given the scale of the cuts in the council’s funding, it is simply not realistic to expect greater council funding in the foreseeable future. Live Active is looking at other ways to increase revenues at Dewars, such as by hosting more events and increasing user fees, but that is unlikely to fill the funding gap. There are other interesting ideas, such as creating a new Scottish curling museum at Dewars, which could attract more visitors.

Back in March, the United Kingdom Government announced a swimming pool fund to help under-pressure leisure facilities to meet rising costs, and there are Barnett consequentials from that. Although the sums involved are not substantial, it would be interesting to hear from the minister whether the Scottish Government intends to provide specific assistance to Scottish swimming pools to reflect the help that has been made available south of the border.

There are plans to replace Dewars and the adjacent leisure pool with a new combined complex under the PH20 project. However, due to rising construction costs, that has had to be delayed and is unlikely to be taken forward for some years. In the meantime, we face on-going uncertainty about the future of Dewars and similar facilities.

I am clear that we cannot contemplate the closure of a facility such as Dewars. It is only through the provision of such sports and leisure facilities that we can encourage sports such as curling and indoor bowls—sports that are vital in encouraging fitness, reducing barriers to inequality and fostering a sense of community. Without facilities in which to play them, those sports will wither and die, with enormous consequences for wider society.

I bring this matter to the chamber for debate because the Scottish Government needs to seriously reflect on these issues. The health and wellbeing agenda is rightly at the heart of what the Government says is important to it, but the provision of sports and leisure facilities, where those are delivered, is left to local authorities, and that delivery is not a statutory function. That means that, at a time when local councils face real-terms cuts in their operating funding, facilities such as Dewars are under threat.

The closure of ice rinks, swimming pools, gyms and sports halls, all of which are at risk today right across the country, would have a devastating impact on an ambition that is shared across the political spectrum: to improve our national health and wellbeing, with a knock-on impact on our economic output. That issue is also dear to the heart of my colleague Brian Whittle, who will contribute to the debate shortly. Those facilities will survive only with a long-term and sustainable funding model.

I encourage the Scottish Government to engage directly with bodies such as Scottish Curling, which is the umbrella organisation for the sport. It has been campaigning for the future of rinks such as Dewars across the country, to ensure a bright future for the sport. We will continue to see successes such as those of Eve Muirhead and Bruce Mouat only if there are the venues to support them and to produce the new generation of gold medal winners that we all want to see.

17:25  

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on the future of the Dewars centre, which is adjacent to my constituency boundary, in the city of Perth, and is in the constituency of my colleague Jim Fairlie, who I anticipate will contribute to the debate.

As Murdo Fraser has set out, the Dewars centre is an important and significant facility that is very much the home of curling and has attracted a formidable amount of the talent that Scotland has produced in the sport. Murdo Fraser correctly attributes a huge amount of appreciation to the achievements of Eve Muirhead, who originates from Blair Athol in my constituency and has gone on to have the most extraordinary career in international curling, becoming an Olympic champion in 2022. This parliamentary debate gives me a welcome opportunity to compliment her and her squad.

Of course, Eve Muirhead is not the first woman to blaze a trail for curling in Scotland. This debate also gives me a really special opportunity to pay tribute to one of my late dear neighbours, Frances Brodie, who was the driving force behind the group that established the first world ladies curling championship in 1979, and who chaired the first official ladies committee of the International Curling Federation—later renamed the World Curling Federation. Frances was a most wonderful lady, who graced all aspects of the life of our village. From that very quiet Perthshire village, she made a phenomenal contribution to opening the sport of curling to women. She was in every respect a true trailblazer. In 1989, her contribution to world curling was recognised by the federation with the introduction of an award in her name, which has been presented at the conclusion of each women’s curling championship since then. The recipient of the honour, who is selected by the curlers participating in the event, is the curler who

“by deed and action in the course of their performance, best exemplified the traditional curling values of skill, honesty, fair play, friendship and sportsmanship.”

I cannot think of a finer description of Frances Brodie, so I am delighted to have the opportunity to put that on the record today.

As Murdo Fraser said, the issues that the Dewars centre faces are challenging. David MacLehose, the chair of Live Active Leisure, cited the significant pressures of reduced customer income, rising inflation, high energy costs and the impact of long-term public finance constraints. Those are issues with which we all wrestle. As I told Parliament at the time, I set the budget for 2023-24—one of my last acts in Government—in the most challenging context in which I have ever had to operate. The pressure on the public finances will be felt by Governments, local authorities and leisure trusts into the bargain. It is therefore essential that, in every step that we take, we try to ensure that the resources are available to support activities that are precious in our society.

However, we must also recognise that that often involves hard decisions. I have to make the point that I was prepared to take a hard decision to increase the resources that are available in the Scottish budget by increasing taxation, but Mr Fraser and his colleagues were not prepared to support us in that endeavour. There are hard choices to be made if we want public expenditure to be used to support facilities of this type. [Interruption.] Therefore, if we are to have debates of this nature in Parliament, we have to follow them up by being prepared to take the hard decisions that are necessary to increase the resources that are available—I hear the usual muttering from the Conservatives that I always hear when I point out the hard financial realities that exist in this respect. Although I am wholly supportive of the future of the Dewars centre, I point out the hard financial realities that the Conservatives always duck in this chamber.

17:30  

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate, and I congratulate my colleague Murdo Fraser on bringing it to the chamber. I also put on the record the fact that I am a past chairman of Perth and Kinross Live Active Leisure.

As we have heard, the Dewars centre is reckoned to be the Hampden Park of curling, because of its reputation. Indeed, Murdo Fraser’s motion rightly states that the potential closure of the Dewars centre would be

“the death knell of a legacy of curling in Perthshire dating back decades”.

As a former chairman of that leisure company and a former councillor, for 18 years, in Perth and Kinross Council, I am acutely aware of the issues that are at stake. During my tenure as chair, the board and I, and other colleagues, had to make difficult choices on a number of occasions, but we always looked to what we could achieve in Perth and Kinross. The Dewars centre was always seen as a priority, and funding for that facility was always made available—that was an issue because, at that time, it faced certain circumstances. The stature of that facility at the local, national and international level of curling enhanced Perth’s reputation worldwide, so we felt that it had to be seen as a priority.

The families and the organisations that have supported curling over the decades must be congratulated on their pioneering work in ensuring that the centre was given the status that it rightly deserves. With regard to its reputation, and to see how much the facility matters to the community and the sport, we need look only at the accolades and awards of those associated with it, who range from local champions to, as we have heard, Olympic gold medallists.

The threat of closure stems from nothing more than the decades of chronic underfunding that councils, including Perth and Kinross Council, have had to endure under the Scottish National Party Government. In March this year, the United Kingdom Government announced that there would be £63 million of investment support for leisure centres and swimming pools in England. As we have heard, major sporting bodies urged the Scottish Government to match that on a per capita basis, using the associated funding that came to Scotland through the Barnett consequentials. I know that Mr Swinney has made comments about making difficult decisions, but when we have a world-recognised facility that has a global reputation, supporting it is a possibility that should be considered.

The speciality of the sport is vitally important, not least because, as we all acknowledge, sporting pursuits make it possible for individuals of all ages to expand their potential and develop their physical and mental health and wellbeing. We know that the national health service saves an estimated £357 million as a result of people being actively involved in doing things.

We are where we are. It is a fact that, across Scotland, we hear time and again of sporting facilities being threatened with closure.

In conclusion, the overwhelming evidence is that the Dewars centre has a contribution to make to curling and its stature on the world stage. I strongly urge the minister to consider the situation and look at the long-term security of facilities such as the Dewars centre, because they make a massive contribution. The closure of the facility would have far-reaching consequences for Scotland’s curling and the sport in general, so we need to support that rink, we need to support that sport and we need the Government to stand up and support those facilities in the interests of our communities and our constituents.

17:34  

I thank Murdo Fraser for bringing this debate to the chamber. I also apologise to members for having to leave early, which means that I will miss others’ speeches. Thank you, Presiding Officer, for accepting my request in that regard.

Although the motion itself predates the decision to continue funding for the Dewars centre for the next year, it gives us a welcome opportunity to talk about the need for longer-term security for the centre and to highlight its role in supporting sporting participation and community activity, as well as to note the well-known success stories.

We are always happy to celebrate Scotland’s successes on the sporting stage, such as the winning of the recent world men’s curling championship in Canada. However, behind those victories lie years of dedication on the part of sportspeople and coaches, spent in venues and facilities that allow people a place to develop, to train and to work towards their goals.

A key part of sporting success is the provision of quality facilities for those starting out as well as professional-level competitors, and that needs long-term investment and commitment. Although the decision to continue to fund the Dewars centre for the next 12 months is welcome, there is still a question mark over its longer-term position. I know that Scottish Curling is committed to working to ensure that curling remains in its prominent place at the Dewars centre and I—like, I am sure, other members—have been contacted by constituents imploring MSPs to do what we can to help ensure the continuation of curling at the centre, highlighting the various clubs and members who regularly travel to play there, with some travelling not inconsiderable distances.

Earlier this year, I was pleased to visit the Dewars centre, where I met Vincent Bryson and Graham Lindsay of Scottish Curling, as well as Debbie Scott, who is the senior facilities manager of Live Action Leisure, to talk about their work to increase participation in curling, as well as the importance of the centre as a training venue. We also discussed what the centre offers in addition to its importance to curling, both as a leisure venue and as somewhere that provides exhibition space and conference facilities. Alongside the swimming pool, the Dewars centre is an important part of the Perth community. That was demonstrated when proposals to close both venues emerged and many people contacted Live Action Leisure to plead with it not to do that.

Although both facilities have been secured for another year, part of the funding solution was to allocate funds from Live Action Leisure reserves alongside a fee increase across activities, and that might need to be looked at again next year. Further, although the planned PH20 looks like a great prospect, the construction timeline is not clear, and a way forward has to be found that recognises the strategic importance of the Dewars centre and commits to the PH20 project.

More broadly, we are increasingly seeing leisure facilities and provision across the country at risk as a result of underinvestment in local authorities and, more recently, increased energy costs, and much more needs to be done to protect communities that are at risk of being left without access to those services. Multi-use venues such as the Dewars centre must be supported to attract more exhibitions and conferences that can increase their income across the year and can enable them to diversify and expand their offer into other areas.

Further, by encouraging a more active population, we can increase participation, which in turn generates the income that is needed to keep those facilities open in our communities. It is in those communities that our sporting successes begin, and it is in those communities that we see the related benefits of pursuits such as curling and their contribution towards social cohesion, addressing loneliness and allowing people to get and stay active for their physical and mental health. Those important cross-cutting benefits of sporting activity extend across our lives, and we should recognise the vital role of quality venues in delivering them across Scotland.

17:38  

I thank my colleague Murdo Fraser for bringing such an important debate to the chamber and also for broadening the debate out from the threat to the world-class curling facility at the Dewars centre in Perth to the increasing threat to many other key sporting facilities across Scotland.

This debate once again allows me to focus on the wider implications of our continuing to lose sports facilities. Physical activity in sport has a significant impact across all of society. The physical health benefits are maybe the most obvious but, as Murdo Fraser alluded to, it has a massive impact on mental health outcomes, loneliness, isolation and inclusivity, and there are wider impacts across the whole of the country.

For example, the greatest drag on Scotland’s economy is our poor health record. We are the unhealthiest nation in Europe; the last time that I checked, around 13 per cent of our working population were unable to work because of ill health. Given the need that Mr Swinney alluded to of having to raise the tax take to pay for our under-pressure services, surely tackling that inactivity should be a focus for the Scottish Government.

If it were the priority, the Scottish Government would have been ensuring that physical activity was easily available to all, irrespective of background or personal circumstances. However, as I have consistently highlighted in my time in this place, sport is becoming the bastion of the middle class. To compound that decline, school physical activity, especially in extracurricular activities, has seriously declined. School introduced sport to many of us, and it had a positive effect on attainment and behaviour, as has been much discussed in the chamber in the past couple of weeks.

Murdo Fraser’s motion highlights the threat to the Dewars centre. That threat is reflected in threats to sports facilities throughout Scotland—threats to ice rinks, including in Ayr, swimming pools, hockey pitches and football pitches. Even the national athletics stadium in Grangemouth was under threat. Even where facilities have not been under threat, we have heard many stories of councils considering significant hikes in costs to use them, excluding even more people.

If we do not reverse that decline, the nation’s health will continue to struggle. That will require more and more investment in tackling ill health, leading to even less investment in facilities and a slow spiral downwards. Would it not be better to begin to move investment upstream, to invest in our sports facilities and to give everyone the opportunity to have the joy and pleasure of physical activity?

17:41  

I congratulate my colleague Murdo Fraser on securing this members’ business debate, which celebrates Dewars ice rink. I should say that, although it might be the Hampden in that respect, Dumfries and Galloway certainly provides the feeder clubs for our national success.

It is clearly a worrying time for ice sports enthusiasts, whether they be curlers, skaters or ice hockey players. Sadly, many of Scotland’s ice rinks face prohibitive energy price increases that threaten their very existence. As the Scottish Ice Rinks Association has stated, we have literally come to the end of the road unless someone can wave a magic wand and get energy prices down to a realistic level or we receive significant external funding.

Annual bills used to be between £50,000 and £60,000, but many are now heading towards almost £200,000—or three to four times the increase. That is purely for energy, but energy is needed to make the ice. There is no way around the matter; essentially, ice rinks are massive refrigerators. Talks are being held with governing bodies, utility firms and the Scottish Government to find a way forward. Given that Scotland’s ice rinks have been the breeding grounds for such exceptional international talent, we need to support them in those efforts.

In the south of Scotland, we have three different ice rink models: one in a hotel in Stranraer, a council-run facility in Dumfries and a registered charity in Lockerbie. The North West Castle hotel was the first hotel in the world to have its own indoor curling rink, and it continues to attract visitors from around the globe. It was recently taken over by Bespoke Hotels, at the time when the energy crisis was having the strongest hit, and like other groups, it was worried about how to continue curling. Thankfully, with a season now under the belt, things now look slightly more encouraging. I put on record my thanks and the thanks of the people of Stranraer and the wider community to the management of Bespoke Hotels, including the ice rink manager, Gail Munro, for the sterling work that it has done to keep curling in Stranraer—which, arguably, is the most prolific breeding ground for world champions.

Dumfries ice bowl has an enviable reputation for nurturing world-class curlers, too. It has been successful in attracting the world ice hockey championship, and it is home to award-winning figure skaters and synchronised teams: the Solway Stars, Solway Eclipse, Solway Lightning and Solway Comets. All of that, along with the ice hockey team that is based there, helps to sustain the venue’s two ice rinks, and the hard work of the team there deserves to be recognised. Much of the success has been initiated by the vision of Dumfries and Galloway Council staff, particularly Richard Grieveson, who went on to be the chairman of Ice Hockey UK for five years.

Sportscotland has provided £1.75 million to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, but more financial aid is needed. We must ensure that the legacy of the phenomenal success enjoyed by our curlers is felt for years to come. Winning a gold medal at the world championship in Ottawa was the crowning glory of the Scottish men’s curling team; it was skippered by Bruce Mouat, who was assisted by three team mates from the south of Scotland. Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan from Stranraer are the latest trailblazers to have carried on the fine skills developed by their respective families. Those lads were joined on the winner’s rostrum by Dumfries curler Grant Hardie and their near-perfect curling saw them defeat the home nation favourites 9-3. That glorious achievement came just months after team Mouat clinched their third European men’s curling championship in Sweden, adding that to the silver medal that they won in the 2022 winter Olympics.

Joining those curlers on the conveyor belt of talent from Stranraer is Hugh Nibloe, who helped Scotland win bronze at the world wheelchair curling championships in Canada, reaching his century of appearances for the Scottish national curling team. He has also represented Great Britain at the Paralympics, where he won a bronze medal in 2017 and silver in 2019.

Not to be outdone, Fay Henderson from Dumfries and Robyn Munro from Stranraer helped Scotland’s women strike gold at this year’s world junior championships in Germany. Scotland’s junior men’s team, skippered by Orrin Carson with teammates Logan Carson, Archie Hyslop, Charlie Gibb and Scott Hyslop—all from Dumfries curling club—won a bronze medal at the world junior championships. There was also success for Blair Haswell from Stranraer and Jack Carrick from Dumfries, who won gold for team GB at the winter session of the world university games at Lake Placid in New York state.

I cannot pass up the opportunity to praise my own daughter, who scored the one and only—and first ever—goal for the team GB ice hockey squad, against Japan, at the same games. She has had the wonderful experience of playing ice hockey on rinks right across Scotland, the United Kingdom and the world. It has been a huge part of her life and continues to be so.

The achievements of all those players are now inspiring many youngsters to take up sport, which can be only good. To ensure that those sports have a future, though, we must ensure the future of our much-loved ice rinks.

17:46  

I will make a very brief comment, doing so not only as a member for Mid Scotland and Fife who has, for many years, greatly valued the Dewars facility for all the reasons set out by Murdo Fraser in his opening speech but as convener for 10 years of the cross-party group on sport. I know that my predecessor, the late Margo MacDonald, would have been saying exactly the same thing in this debate, which is that Dewars is the epitome of a local sports facility that provides not only for elite athletes, especially curlers, but for grass-roots sport. We lose that at our peril.

In an age when grass-roots sports matter more than ever in helping to address the concerns and anxieties resulting from Covid and when there is a dearth of extracurricular activity in many schools—an issue that we debated earlier—I implore the Scottish Government to think very carefully about its current approach, for the reasons that Brian Whittle cited. I have no doubt whatsoever that the Scottish Government wants to be constructive and helpful, but I believe that the time has come to properly re-evaluate policies and their effects on grass-roots sport. I know that the members of my cross-party group feel exactly the same.

I thank my colleague and good friend Murdo Fraser for bringing this debate to the chamber, not only because of Dewars but because of the wider implications for Scotland.

Thank you, Ms Smith. As Brian Whittle and I can testify after our footballing exploits on Monday, there is also a downside to physical activity.

Jim Fairlie is the final speaker in the open debate and is—I hope—joining us remotely.

17:48  

I apologise for not getting to the chamber, Presiding Officer. Unfortunately, the Edinburgh traffic had a lot to do with that.

There is no question but that Perth and the surrounding area are world renowned for excellence in curling. The facilities there have helped to spawn the golden sporting careers of legends such as Rhona Howie, Eve Muirhead, David Murdoch and others.

Although we should take every opportunity to highlight those wonderful achievements in Parliament, I regret that Murdo Fraser has muddied a happy and celebratory subject by drawing members’ attention to local politics and is doing so when he frankly does not have a leg to stand on. Any of my constituents who are tuning in should be aware that this is a members’ business debate: the Scottish Parliament will not vote on the matter because, rightly, the issue is one for local government to decide on.

As we address the issue head on, let us discuss what Murdo Fraser has brought to the local matter before us. We can look back at his words from September 2019, when Mr Fraser encouraged the introduction of mayors to Scotland’s cities, saying:

“This would give the opportunity to devolve more power from the centre. The SNP is very keen on devolution from Westminster to Edinburgh, but not at all keen on devolution from Edinburgh any further afield. This situation needs to be reversed, with much greater autonomy for local areas.”

A few years on, here we are discussing a local government decision in Parliament.

If there is one thing that the Tories know well, it is how to do hypocrisy. Perth and Kinross councillors of all affiliations have long advocated for a modern replacement of leisure facilities such as the Perth leisure pool and the Dewars centre, so it is surprising to read the motion fearfully describe that there might be an imminent threat to curling facilities locally.

The modern replacement is known as the PH2O project. It will provide modernised leisure water facilities as well as an additional 25m pool and training pool, bowling, curling, skating, a health spa, family play activities, conference support and a cafe. It is a centre fit for the 21st century, built to Passivhaus standards and representing a major step forward in the area’s contribution to meeting Scotland’s net zero carbon target by 2045.

It is necessary to replace the existing facilities, which are showing their age, from a financial perspective and an environmental one. That was recognised back in 2021 by the Conservative leader of the council at the time, Murray Lyle. When committing to replacing Perth leisure pool and the Dewars centre, he said that

“both were coming to the end of their useful lives”,

and it is clear that he had a point. The annual utility costs for Perth leisure pool and the Dewars centre are running at a highly expensive £500,000, while the facilities face significant pressure, primarily from reduced customer income, rising inflation and high energy costs. I think that we can all agree that that is something that we should be talking about.

All those factors, as well as a lack of workforce, which is causing another great economic disaster of the Tories’ making as a result of Brexit—not to forget Liz Truss—have meant that the project has proven to be difficult to get off the ground. However, that need not have been the case. When the Tories were in administration, they dithered on introducing the project, despite financial evidence from council officers warning of the necessity of the project and the significant cost implications of delaying. When in power, the Tories knew that the project should have been a priority, but it was not until they were voted out of office and replaced by the SNP that the project has got going, with the current administration ring fencing £90 million for it to go ahead.

Something else that does not add up is that, as soon as the Tories were voted into opposition, they introduced an amendment targeting an uncosted £350,000 commitment to keeping Live Active Leisure facilities open in Perth during 2023 and 2024. I understand that there is a need to ensure convenient access to leisure facilities, but why throw that money blindly at an issue, other than to create a political stir?

In contrast, the SNP administration has reacted responsibly, not only securing the long-term future of the curling services in Perth by setting the gears in motion for PH2O, but working alongside the arm’s-length organisation Live Active Leisure to provide £110,000 of additional support to assist the financial challenges faced by the Dewars centre in this financial year, saving hundreds of thousands of pounds in so doing that could well be used.

The SNP celebrates Scottish curling and will ensure that Perth continues to be the home of champions in years to come.

17:52  

I thank Murdo Fraser for bringing the motion to Parliament, and I thank members from across the chamber who have contributed.

As members will all know, I am absolutely passionate about sport. I have watched with immense pride the fantastic achievements of Scottish curlers, from Rhona Howie’s final-stone triumph in Salt Lake City to Eve Muirhead skippering her team to Olympic gold in Beijing and, just recently, Bruce Mouat’s team winning the world men’s curling championship. Scotland’s curlers continue to succeed at the very highest level on the world stage.

The Scottish Government understands that part of that success is due to the fantastic facilities that are available—not only the Dewars centre in Perth but other facilities around Scotland. We also have the Olympic performance programme for curling based here in Scotland; in fact, it is the only UK Sport Olympic and Paralympic supported programme that is based in Scotland. That reflects the history of the sport, which as many members will know was invented in Scotland, as well as the fact that the overwhelming majority of curling clubs are located in Scotland.

I truly believe that you have to be able to see it to be it, and the children and young people of Scotland are fortunate to have those amazingly successful Scottish curlers as role models. However, that visibility is only part of the story, as our young people also need the opportunity to try curling and to fall in love with the sport, so any threatened closures are a real concern.

As has been noted during the debate, Live Active Leisure has committed to keeping the Perth leisure centre and the Dewars centre fully open until the end of March 2024. That is welcome news in the short term, and it will, I hope, allow time for Live Active Leisure to work collaboratively with Perth and Kinross Council on a long-term solution.

I am aware that that has resulted in price increases of between 10 and 15 per cent, and I understand that some will be disappointed with the decision, but I am delighted that Live Active Leisure has committed to freezing charges for people who are in receipt of a qualifying benefit. It is essential that we do not increase the barriers to physical activity, especially for our children and young people. Freezing prices for concessions will help to protect the most disadvantaged people in our society and it can make a real difference in reducing health inequalities for people across Perth and Kinross.

We all know that local authorities are operating in very challenging financial circumstances.

As Murdo Fraser mentioned in his contribution, the Scottish Government received Barnett consequentials as a result of the UK Government announcing extra funding for swimming pools in England. Will that money be passed on to our local authorities so that sports facilities such as Bucksburn swimming pool in Aberdeen can be saved?

I know, because we have seen it during the past few days, that it is really hard for my Conservative colleagues to understand that devolution enables us to make different decisions in Scotland.

Will the minister give way?

Let me finish. The UK’s decision to fund swimming pools results in Barnett consequentials for the Scottish budget, but they go into the block grant as a whole and Scottish ministers decide how to allocate those resources. Some of the different decisions that we have made in Scotland are on things such as protecting Scottish citizens from the bedroom tax, or things like that game-changer in tackling poverty, the Scottish child payment, and so on.

What the minister does not seem to understand is that we are talking about additional funding after the block grant allocation, so it should not have been allocated to something else. It was additional, so it could have been moved to local authorities to save our local sports facilities.

The member does not seem to understand that the Scottish Government spends millions of pounds every year on mitigating policies that wreak havoc on our citizens in Scotland and cause immense pain and poverty. The bedroom tax particularly targeted people with disabilities. I am proud that, in Scotland, we protect people.

For the sake of completeness, I need to advise the Parliament that Mr Lumsden is wholly incorrect. The allocation of funding for swimming pools was made in the United Kingdom budget of October 2022, so it formed part of the block grant that I distributed in December 2022. What Mr Lumsden has just put to the minister is therefore wholly wrong.

As part of the process, we will consider what support can be provided to the sport and leisure sector in Scotland. We will continue to work with sportscotland, our national agency for sport, to understand accurately the provision of facilities and predict the landscape in the short, medium and long term and to ensure the sustainability of these important facilities.

Will the minister give way?

I have given way a number of times. Let me continue and finish my point.

We have called repeatedly on the UK Government to use all the powers that it has at its disposal to tackle the cost of living crisis and to provide appropriate energy bill relief to leisure facilities. I am sure that we can all agree that that would be a useful strategy for the Westminster Government to pursue.

Give that most of the levers for responding to financial challenges are reserved, we continue to urge the UK Government to use all of its powers to tackle the cost of living crisis. I remind members that the UK is facing a worse cost of living crisis than European Union countries. The UK Government should act now.

For its part, in 2023-24, the Scottish Government increased the resources available to local government by more than £793 million. That is a real-terms increase of £376 million, or 3 per cent. However, as independent corporate bodies, it is for local authorities to manage their budgets and allocate the total financial resources that are available to them, including for leisure facilities, on the basis of local needs and priorities. We will continue to work in partnership with our colleagues in local government to ensure that the people of Scotland continue to receive the high-quality public services that they expect and deserve.

Sportscotland and Scottish Government officials recently met representatives of the Scottish Ice Rinks Association to discuss the difficulties facing rinks. We know that they face significant energy costs and that energy efficiency remains a concern. Between 2008 and 2018, sportscotland invested almost £4 million in capital projects to replace the refrigeration systems in Scotland’s ice rinks. We also supported 13 privately-operated ice rinks with £2 million during the pandemic.

Sport and leisure facilities?play such a critical role in improving people’s lives, whether they are taking part in sport and physical activity for the first time, attending regular clubs and activities that help to develop friendships as well as confidence and skills, or progressing and achieving success. They are community hubs that bring people together and make a positive contribution to building healthier, happier, safer and stronger communities.

We know about the significant physical, mental and social benefits of physical activity and, as minister, I want everyone, even my colleagues who are limping this week because of their football match on Monday, to be able to benefit from sport and physical activity. We are working hard to remove the barriers that still exist to people being physically active.

I have to inform my colleague Brian Whittle that it is not a new problem that sport is reserved to the middle classes—it has always been thus. Sport has always favoured the rich, and this Government is determined to change that. It is important that facilities, including ice rinks, are accessible for everyone in Scotland so that everyone can benefit from sport and physical activity and the future curling world and Olympic champions of tomorrow can access the pathway to success. I am sure that my fellow members would all delight in seeing Scotland’s curlers continue to be successful on the world stage. As the minister responsible for sport, I will continue to look for opportunities to provide support for the Dewars centre and for all sport and leisure facilities throughout Scotland.

Meeting closed at 18:02.