Sport

– in the Scottish Parliament at 2:30 pm on 4 May 2000.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Lord David Steel Lord David Steel Presiding Officer, Scottish Parliament 2:30, 4 May 2000

Our next item of business is a debate on motion S1M-793, in the name of Rhona Brankin, on the role of sport in social inclusion, and amendments to that motion.

Photo of Rhona Brankin Rhona Brankin Labour 3:34, 4 May 2000

I am delighted to open this Parliament's first full debate on sport and to make the link between sport and our vision of achieving a fairer and more just Scotland in the 21 st century. We are determined to do that by putting social justice and equality of opportunity at the heart of our agenda, delivering a fairer and more just society—a Scotland where everybody matters. That is why, in November, we set out our vision for delivering social justice in Scotland, setting ourselves 10 specific targets and 29 milestones to achieve that aim.

Fundamentally, our vision is about people—making sure that they have the opportunity to get a proper education, to get a decent job, to have good health and to live in a warm house. However, our vision is also about the quality of life—having leisure time and having the opportunity to enjoy that leisure time and to do the fun things that help to make living worthwhile.

Sport is an immensely valuable activity in its own right. It is a focal point in the lives of a large percentage of Scotland's population, whether people are involved actively or as spectators. Sport is also hugely significant as a contributor to other aspects of Scottish life. My colleagues in the Scottish Executive and I have acknowledged that broader role of sport in the "Partnership for Scotland" document, in which we have embraced the role of sports in health, education, social inclusion, economic development, tourism, community regeneration and lifelong learning. Sport can make a major contribution to tackling the priority social policy issues that face Scotland today. However, sport cannot do that alone.

Photo of Rhona Brankin Rhona Brankin Labour

I would like to get further into my speech.

Sport must have a strong and meaningful partnership with health and education, in particular. It must look to itself, to be certain that it is doing everything in its powers to eliminate all forms of discrimination and exclusion. We are all aware that sport can divide people: not in the sense of healthy competition and partisanship, but through unhealthy prejudice and discrimination. In developing sport and supporting opportunities for all, the Scottish Executive wants to achieve a more inclusive society in which respect is fostered and in which prejudice and discrimination have no part. We will seek to accentuate the positives of sport, its capacity to increase the self-esteem of individuals, build community spirit, increase local interaction, reduce crime, improve health and fitness, and create employment.

Photo of Fergus Ewing Fergus Ewing Scottish National Party

I am sure that all members agree with everything the minister has said. The minister took the trouble, as did many other members, to hear the case that was presented yesterday evening by the Camanachd Association. I know that the association was grateful for that. Does she accept that the case that the Camanachd Association presented meets all the criteria that she has outlined? Will she support the case that the association has made for an enhancement of its modest funding of £15,000 a year, which has been frozen at that level for the past six years?

Photo of Rhona Brankin Rhona Brankin Labour

I thank Fergus Ewing for his kind words of support. Decisions about funding are taken by sportscotland, which is receiving an extra £1.5 million through the comprehensive spending review, as announced by Sam Galbraith.

The Scottish Executive's aim is to increase the participation in sport of people of all ages and abilities, and to encourage young people to remain active in sport as they enter and progress through adulthood. Our national strategy for sport, "Sport 21", was published by sportscotland and contains a target to increase the number of people who participate in sport from groups that include people with disabilities, women and young girls, people who live in areas of economic and social disadvantage, rural communities and people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Photo of Rhona Brankin Rhona Brankin Labour

Not just now.

Sportscotland has recently commissioned two pieces of research that relate to that target in the wider context of social inclusion. The first piece of research was commissioned jointly with the Scottish Executive and focused on the role of sport in regenerating urban deprived areas. The research report will be published in the near future and the result should help to develop best practice in promoting social inclusion through sports activity. The findings are generic to disadvantaged areas and will be relevant to rural as well as to urban communities, which is important.

The second research study focuses on the participation in sports of people with disabilities and people from ethnic minority backgrounds. The research centres on the barriers that prevent people from those groups participating in sport and on ways in which those barriers can be overcome or eliminated.

Sportscotland is developing a framework for monitoring the implementation of "Sport 21", the national strategy. The first annual review comprised the drawing together of five expert forums to consider the issues that face Scottish sport one year on from the launch of the strategy. One of the forums concentrated on sport and social inclusion. Its recommendations for future action were fed in at the first meeting of the "Sport 21" national review group, which I chaired on Tuesday. That group will produce a report on progress in implementation of the strategy, which will be published soon.

It is also important to recognise that sportscotland is committed to working with social inclusion partnerships over the next three years to establish a sports element in the work of the partnerships. Sport is already a significant component of several SIPs, including greater Easterhouse, Castlemilk and Dundee.

Photo of Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Sturgeon Scottish National Party

I am grateful to the minister for giving way.

Will the minister address the place of community sports facilities in the Executive's thinking? She will recall a recent members' business debate on the closure of Pollokshaws sports centre in Glasgow. It has now closed and the building is falling into disrepair. The people of that community, which is one of the most deprived in Glasgow, do not have access to local sports facilities.

Does the minister think that community sports facilities are central to a social inclusion strategy?

Photo of Rhona Brankin Rhona Brankin Labour

As Nicola Sturgeon would expect, social inclusion depends on active, involved communities. To answer her point about Pollokshaws sports centre, Glasgow City Council went through a detailed process of facilities planning to decide the best local facilities for sport and recreation in Glasgow. Having discussed the matter with the council, I am convinced that it came up with the best model. Indeed, the model used by the council to make judgments about facilities for sport in Glasgow was based on the model developed by sportscotland. We recognise that community sports facilities are central to the development of our sports strategy.

During question time, in answer to Allan Wilson, I gave details of the programmes that sportscotland has in place for people with disabilities. Sportscotland also signed up to the Commission for Racial Equality's leadership challenge and is in the process of developing an action plan to implement some of the challenge's key objectives to help foster racial equality in Scottish sport.

Sportscotland is also a signatory to the 1994 Brighton declaration on women in sport, which sets out a comprehensive set of principles for the development of opportunities for women in sport. Significant progress has been made in Scotland to increase the number of women participating in sport. From 1990 to 1992, only 47 per cent of women participated in sport regularly, rising to 57 per cent by 1996 to 1998. However, further efforts are needed to increase the number of women involved in coaching and in sports administration.

More than £200 million of new facility investment has been made available by the lottery sports fund, which is administered by sportscotland. Much of that investment has been made in some of the most deprived communities in Scotland.

Photo of Rhona Brankin Rhona Brankin Labour

If Lloyd Quinan does not mind, I must move on.

While facilities are important, the top priority is to engage with people. As I said, the outcome of the comprehensive spending review for sport announced by Sam Galbraith gave a major boost to the development of youth and school sport. He announced a three-year £8.1 million package of measures that target youth sport to develop the school sport co-ordinator programme in secondary schools and the top play top sport programme for children of primary school age.

Those programmes and related initiatives will help put in place a framework to extend and widen sporting opportunities for all Scottish children and assist in the development of healthy, active lifestyles. I am pleased to announce today that there are now 213 sports co-ordinators in place after only one year of the programme. We are therefore well on course to achieve our target of a co-ordinator in every secondary school by 2003.

There has been a lot of interest in recent years in maintaining and enhancing the close, special relationship that football fans have with the club they support. Concerns have been expressed that the increasing commercialisation of top-level football amounts to a form of social exclusion. The establishment of supporter trusts has been advocated as a vehicle for taking a share in the ownership and administration of clubs. Certainly supporter trusts are one way of increasing supporter involvement, but they are not the only way of achieving that aim and the Scottish Executive is not convinced that they are the best way.

I am pleased to announce, however, that we intend to ensure that guidance is made available to those who may be interested in establishing supporter trusts. At this stage, however, we do not intend to divert scarce public funds into assisting groups with the legal and other costs involved in establishing such trusts. Our top priority is to assist in setting up the network of football academies that will help to bring through more talented young players to perform well at the top levels of the sport.

Photo of Rhona Brankin Rhona Brankin Labour

No, I am running out of time.

We favour enhancing the links between supporters and their clubs for the benefit of both. I propose to raise the matter at the next meeting of the football partnership, which I chair.

Sport has a vital role to play in promoting social inclusion. The Scottish Executive is giving a strong lead to sports organisations, local authorities and others bodies that can ensure that the role of sports is positive. This is an exciting time for sport in Scotland and for everyone involved in it. I believe that sport will rise to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and will play its part in improving the quality of life of all Scotland's people.

I move,

That the Parliament endorses the Scottish Executive's vision of achieving equality of opportunity for all; supports its aim of making Scotland a more inclusive society where inequalities between communities are reduced; recognises the important role which sports can play in promoting social inclusion; and commends the work of the Executive, sportscotland and other agencies to widen participation in sport as part of personal and community development.

Photo of Fiona McLeod Fiona McLeod Scottish National Party 3:46, 4 May 2000

As the minister has said, sport can bring us together, as players and participants or as fans and spectators. I regret that this afternoon's self-congratulatory motion will not bring this chamber together.

Sport can foster well-being, physically and emotionally, and it brings a sense of belonging. Why, then, are we debating the proposition that sport can be part of social inclusion? By building on the natural benefits of sport, we can help to overcome the deep-seated problems that exist in some Scottish communities. Sport can build healthy individuals and contribute to the wealth and health of society as a whole.

The SNP takes issue with the final self-congratulatory passage of the motion. The Government talks a good game but, when we consider the facts, examine the evidence and look for the cash, we find that the money is missing.

There is a £2.3 million shortfall in investment in sport in Scotland this year. That figure comes from the Government's own document, "Investing in You". Local authority grants for leisure and recreation have been frozen since 1998. In Scotland, we spend £1.91 per head of population, while Denmark spends a whopping £42 per head and Finland spends £11. We can learn lessons from that international comparison.

An analysis of sportscotland reveals that the funding does not stand up to the targets in the rhetoric. Sportscotland has a sport and social inclusion forum, to which the minister referred. A recent document published by the forum said that

"local and affordable facility provision right down at a neighbourhood level" was incredibly important in ensuring social inclusion. It went on to say that

"the cost of participation remains a consideration".

If we look at the funding that sportscotland has put into sports facilities since 1996, we find that the reality does not match up to the rhetoric. Two of the most deprived local authority areas in the country, West Dunbartonshire and Inverclyde, have received respectively four awards and seven awards from sportscotland's sports facilities awards scheme. They have each received £700,000, which represents 0.8 per cent of the total sum spent on sports facilities in Scotland by sportscotland. Over the same period, merchant company schools in Edinburgh received a grant of £2.3 million. It does not appear to me that the social inclusion rhetoric is being followed through in reality.

Photo of Brian Monteith Brian Monteith Conservative

Is Fiona McLeod aware that for a long time sportscotland, which manages lottery funding for sport, sought applications for money for cricket and associated projects, but none were forthcoming? Is she aware that, having accepted money from the lottery sports fund, the merchant company has to make public access available? In fact, there is now greater public access to cricket than there was before the new facility was built.

Photo of Fiona McLeod Fiona McLeod Scottish National Party

I am glad to hear that a private school is opening its doors to the public when it is getting public funding. The point that we return to is that two of the most deprived local authorities in Scotland—both Labour-controlled authorities—were unable to find the match funding to provide significant investment in sports for their deprived communities.

All sportscotland awards reveal a similar pattern. If we look at recent awards to rural communities—which, as the minister announced, is a key group that we want to include in sport and social inclusion—we find that Borders received the amazing sum of £3,265, Dumfries and Galloway got the astonishing sum of £1,000, and in a recent round of awards Angus did not get any award It is not just money that we have to examine: we must look at the criteria and targeting that are used to provide that money to the public. The minister referred to the key groups that sportscotland says it will fund—the disabled, women, rural areas, areas of economic and social deprivation and ethnic minorities—but as my examples show, the rhetoric does not match the reality. In fact, funding is missing those targets. Rather than leave the unelected quango of sportscotland, which I recall has nine male board members and four female, to set criteria, surely this Parliament should be setting the criteria to ensure that the country achieves our aims of social inclusion.

I must praise the many volunteers who support sport in this country through the many hours they give in coaching, especially in coaching young people. Parliament has often praised the work of volunteers. The SNP amendment would not just praise them; it would give them a say in ensuring that sport is built from the grass roots up and that funding is given where it is needed. Our amendment would include the participants and the providers in sport in building a healthy and winning Scotland.

I move amendment S1M-793.1, to leave out from "commends" to end and insert:

"calls for the establishment of a national network of locally accountable partnerships between local authorities and sports organisations with funding directed towards community sports initiatives."

Photo of David Mundell David Mundell Conservative 3:53, 4 May 2000

I have no doubt that the opportunity to participate in sporting activity, however defined—I will return to that later—can be one of the most pleasurable, rewarding and developmental aspects of anyone's life. The opportunity to participate in team sports in particular gives the chance to learn how to work with others, to meet people from different backgrounds and to develop new skills. That is why many businesses have turned to sports coaches such as Frank Dick and Craig Brown to try to develop the same ethos in their workplaces.

The opportunity to participate—and to do so at a level that is appropriate to the participant—is the key to any sport strategy for Scotland. That is not to argue against competitive sport, which we need in order to ensure that we have sports men and women of the highest calibre and to ensure that there is scope for competition within sporting activities. However, we must also ensure that everyone has the opportunity to become involved at the level appropriate to them. They can aspire to improve or to continue as they are if that is their choice. That should not mean a lowest-common-denominator approach; it should mean choice. We would welcome that.

I want us to move away from the approach that was prevalent during my school days, which discouraged the less sportingly able from participating. That approach was the process of picking teams for rugby, football, hockey or whatever, where the physical education teacher selected two captains—usually the best players of the particular sport—the rest of the pupils were lined up and people were picked alternately. That was never categorised as exclusion and I did not regard myself as being excluded, although I was often among the last to be picked.

Photo of David Mundell David Mundell Conservative

I am about to confirm that neither was it a boost to my confidence to be potentially the last to be picked— [Interruption.]

Photo of David Mundell David Mundell Conservative

Not at this point. I will give way at the end of my life experience story, which Margo has interrupted.

My point is that the environment did not encourage those who were less able to participate. We should not retain such an environment—everybody should be able to participate at their own level.

I want to raise the issue of what we mean by sport and who should decide whether a sporting activity has merit and social respectability and is politically correct. Yesterday I was fascinated by a discussion I heard on the radio on applications from sports to become Olympic sports. Sports such as synchronised swimming and beach volleyball—which I know my colleague Brian Monteith participates in—have been ridiculed, although they are activities that require a great deal of skill. I heard that snooker and bridge are being seriously considered as Olympic sports. Apparently, the problem with bridge is that the drug-testing rules for it would be the same as are applied to athletic competitors and, because most of the participants in bridge competitions would be older, their medications would lead to their failing the tests.

I would like to see an Executive strategy that does not seek to ascribe any particular merit to any sport at the expense of others. That is why I oppose any changes to the law that would restrict country sports. The fact that one does not participate in a sport does not make that sport less worthy. Fashion, snobbery and political correctness should not influence such decisions.

Alex Neil, Cathy Jamieson and I, among others, are keen to support the Scottish Homing Union in its efforts to keep the traditional sport of pigeon racing alive in Scotland. Racing of pigeons should be allowed to continue—it is an important sport and social activity throughout Scotland. Pigeon fanciers have a right equal to that of bird watchers and naturalists to participate in their sport or hobby.

Let us not be snotty or politically correct when we talk about sport. Let us ensure that we judge our strategy by its output. We should be able to combine having world-class sports men and women in their chosen fields with providing opportunities for everybody to participate in any activity they choose at the level that they want. That should be done against a backdrop of an egalitarian and non-judgmental approach to the range of sporting activities in which people can participate.

I move amendment S1M-793.2, in the name of Mr Brian Monteith, to leave out from "endorses" to end and insert:

"supports the aim of the Scottish Executive to widen participation in sport by all sectors of society but does not believe this aim will be achieved by its proposed strategy."

Photo of Ian Jenkins Ian Jenkins Liberal Democrat 3:58, 4 May 2000

David Mundell has struck a chord with me—I remember being second to last to be chosen on most occasions when teams were picked. I will not tell members about the condition of the person who was last to be picked.

I will tell a wee story—I usually tell wee stories and David Mundell has provided me with a way in to one about social inclusion in sport. Two or three months ago, I was going through some old papers when I came across the draw sheet that named all the participants in a British boys golf championship at Carnoustie that I played in in the 1950s. There, on the sheet, was the name of Ian Jenkins from Rothesay Academy. Three or four places further up the list was the name of Lord James Douglas-Hamilton from Eton College. I am sorry to say that Lord James did better than me, but that was a bit of social integration that I am sure we both benefited from.

Sport has long been recognised as an agent of social mobility and, to some extent, social inclusion. We can all think of boxing heroes—lads from poor backgrounds who have become popular and won fame and financial rewards—such as Benny Lynch, Barry McGuigan and Jim Watt. In soccer, there are many players and some managers who have made the grade in a big way.

In wider terms, states such as Kenya and other north African nations take a proud place on the Olympic and world stages in ways that win them self-respect and international respect well beyond that which is generated by their economic strengths.

However, in this debate we are not talking about high-profile, skilful individuals whose sporting ability has lifted them out of a disadvantaged environment. We are talking about something more important than that—the lifestyle and life chances of socially excluded youngsters and others across the country. We are talking about combating serious potential health problems. It is a real worry that surveys have shown that youngsters are not taking enough exercise to protect their health, and it would be good if we could convince local authorities and schools of the crucial importance of sport.

I worry about making additional demands on the school curriculum, but I support the "Sport 21" objective of increasing the amount of time that is dedicated to physical education in primary schools. Life-enhancing activities such as music and sport, which have the potential to change people's lives positively for long after they leave primary school, should be given a higher priority than some of the more ephemeral elements of the curriculum, if there is competition between the two.

We are talking also about the social development of individuals. As David Mundell said, working with others in teams and clubs can give isolated individuals a much-needed sense of belonging. We must recognise the tremendous power of peer-group pressure and of youngsters' need to be accepted by their group. It is a challenge for us, because if we can make it cool to play sport and harness peer group pressure positively, through sport, we will be doing ourselves and the individuals concerned a massive favour.

Sport can give an individual a sense of self-respect. Youngsters who do not do well at school may succeed in non-academic areas. Sport and games can also bring excitement into young people's lives. Youngsters seek excitement, and the opportunity to take part in sports and games can offer a creative and positive outlet for the urge to seek colour in what might otherwise be grey lives in poor areas. Without sport, excitement may be found in socially destructive ways.

Sport can also help foster a sense of community identity. People are proud of successes from their communities. They identify with local sports men and women and local teams. The very existence of such teams and clubs provides a focus for the hopes and aspirations of the community from which they spring.

I commend to the chamber the summary papers of a series of forums that were held by "Sport 21" implementation and review groups during the last quarter of last year. In the context of today's debate, I would pick out the work of the sport and social inclusion forum and the work of the forums on sport and schools and sport and the voluntary sector. The last of those recognises the vital importance of unpaid volunteers in the promotion of sport across the country.

All the reports emphasise the importance of opportunity and access—the need for local and affordable provision right down at the neighbourhood level, as Fiona McLeod said. The nature of the provision is also important—it must be attractive to youngsters and it may need to be presented differently from how it was presented in the past. We must also be careful about the cost of participation. People always want to have the best sports equipment—even kids who come from poorer backgrounds want to look good, which is expensive.

The importance of local government's role is recognised in the papers. One problem is that not all authorities view sport and leisure as core services. In the context of social inclusion, that must be remedied.

Funding is also mentioned in the papers. Lottery funding can be helpful, but here, as in many other areas, there is a danger of setting up projects on three-year funding that find themselves in difficulties at the end of that period. This Parliament needs to examine three-year funding, in sport as well as in other areas.

The forums point to a positive way ahead. I am convinced that the programmes to which the minister has referred in this debate and in a parliamentary answer are leading us in the right direction. If we can increase participation in sport across the board, society will benefit through having a healthier population and through the positive economic benefits that will go with that. Communities will benefit through having identity, pride and social cohesion. Men, women and children will benefit, both as individuals and as social beings. I commend the Executive's approach. Although I am unhealthy, unfit and worried, I call on Scots everywhere to get up, get out, and get active.

Photo of George Reid George Reid Scottish National Party

Thirteen members have asked to speak. Clearly, it will not be possible to include them all. However, it would be helpful if speeches could be kept to around four minutes, plus interventions.

Photo of Cathy Jamieson Cathy Jamieson Labour 4:06, 4 May 2000

As one of the great unfit, I welcome this debate. Since I was elected, I have had no time to get to the gym, which I used to do regularly. During David Mundell's contribution, I was thinking about what sport had done for me in my youth. It was through our chosen sport of karate that I met my husband, so it was a very interesting relationship right from the start.

Photo of Cathy Jamieson Cathy Jamieson Labour

Who do you think won? I am very non-competitive, as Margaret Curran knows.

I wanted to say a wee bit about some of the genuine opportunities for social inclusion in sport and to give some positive examples from my constituency. At the weekend, when the sun was shining brightly on Cumnock on the open-air swimming pools that are coming on stream for the first time, we had a fun run. It was organised by a number of people in the local community, including people from the health board, the police and the social inclusion partnership.

The object of the run was to get young people actively involved. It was not to win a prize, but to get a couple of hundred people of all ages, shapes and sizes—although not me, because I was not fit enough to participate—running round the track, just for the sheer pleasure of getting out and participating in sport. We also wanted to combat the notion that the only opportunity for young people in some of the excluded areas is the drugs culture. The young people were a credit to the event. I also pay tribute to the local football club, Kilmarnock, some of whose players and staff got involved in a genuine community event.

In her speech, the minister referred to opportunities for people with disabilities. I am delighted that the world blind bowling championships will be held in Girvan in my constituency in August next year. I know that the minister is aware of that and that some funding has already been made available to allow that valuable championship to take place. The club that is hosting the event is having some difficulty in accessing capital to make some of the changes that will be required to allow access for people with disabilities. I know that the minister will want to be kept up to date with the club's progress on that.

Although I welcome much of what the minister said today, I was disappointed about one thing—and she will know what it is. It concerns the issue of supporter involvement in football clubs. I chair the Scottish Co-operative party group in the Parliament, and we have pushed for such involvement. South of the border, the Co-operative party has set up Supporters Direct, which will give the kind of advice and support that supporters who want to have a greater involvement in their club need.

One way of getting social inclusion is to allow people to take ownership of the facilities and resources that they use, and to allow them a democratic voice. The push for involvement is all about that. To use the same language as is used in social inclusion partnerships and in the voluntary sector, a small investment in capacity building is surely required if we genuinely want to empower people to get actively involved. We should give them some ownership and give them some say. A huge amount of money is not required. The minister has said that she does not intend to divert money from the football academies and the other valuable things that are being proposed, and I would not ask her to do so. However, we can surely try to take the idea of involvement forward and give people a real opportunity.

We need the people who, week in and week out, support and get involved in sport. We can talk as much as we like about social inclusion, but to get people out there actively participating requires work at all levels. I hope that those comments can be taken on board in future developments.

Photo of Margo MacDonald Margo MacDonald Independent 4:10, 4 May 2000

I endorse what Cathy Jamieson has just said and will come back to that, but I must deal first with the terrible trauma revealed from the Tory front bench. I had no idea that David Mundell had such a terrible PE teacher. If he had been in my class, I would have chosen him first and he would have had a completely different attitude to sport.

Mr Mundell went on to be a bit skeich about synchronised swimming. As a wee girl I was so desperate to get into the Hamilton baths synchronised swimming team that I lied about my age. I have since changed that bad habit. When Cathy Jamieson spoke about the Cumnock outdoor pool a few folk tittered. I mind going there from Hamilton as a wee girl for inter-club galas. Sport never did me any harm; it made sure I did not get into trouble. It was only when I took up politics that trouble started.

I endorse the sentiments expressed in the debate. Although there are amendments to the motion, it is generally agreed that sport is an essential component of getting people—particularly poorer and older people—out of their houses and into the community, and that is what matters. I want to address how we might do that and change the culture that Ian Jenkins referred to. It is great to wear a football shirt that identifies a person with Man United or whoever, but when young people are sitting watching television or some other screen, it is not so great. Young people used to spend hours playing heidie against a wall or out in the garden or the street learning how to trap a ball properly. That does not happen any more and it should.

I make a particular plea for the sort of people who, contrary to David Mundell's experience, can inspire and help people to reach the levels of attainment and fitness that they have to have to properly take part in sport and enjoy it. People only really enjoy sport if they do not always get gubbed. Ian Jenkins would have liked golf better if Lord James hadnae beaten him thon long time ago. We need more specialist PE teachers in schools and particularly in primary schools. I am sorry that the Minister for Children and Education is not here to hear me say, yet again, that unless we catch children young, we will not change the culture of watching rather than taking part in sport.

I realise that this is a devolved Parliament and that we cannot spend all the money we might want to. I have ideas for that too, but I will not go into them just now. We could shift some of the education spending to specialist PE teachers coaching in schools and incorporate them into the sort of scheme that Fitness Scotland could introduce to train people in communities to be coaches and community sports leader. That would also start to redress the balance in terms of classroom assistants. Primary teachers do not have the time, nor do most of them have the motivation or the skill to coach and teach PE.

Photo of Sylvia Jackson Sylvia Jackson Labour

Is the member aware that top play top sport involves specialist teachers going into primary schools? While I take the point that there could be more specialist teachers, that is a way to progress.

Photo of Margo MacDonald Margo MacDonald Independent

Thank you. I agree but I want more of them.

I question the statistics that the minister gave that show 50 per cent of women taking part in sport. A huge number of younger women do not take part in sport because fashion takes over as soon as they reach their mid-teens, if they even stick with sport until then. I would be interested to look at those statistics.

Before we can get people taking part in sport, we need coaches in the community. We need to find a way to use the facilities and organisations we have, such as Fitness Scotland, the teacher training colleges and the specialist PE teachers, to get people into the community to teach folk who will then teach younger people to get them into sport for life. The motion talks a good game, but Fiona McLeod's amendment puts the ball in the back of the net. I urge members to support the amendment.

Photo of Michael McMahon Michael McMahon Labour 4:15, 4 May 2000

I am pleased to be able to speak in today's debate for two reasons. First, as a Labour MSP, I am firmly behind the Scottish Executive, local authorities and other agencies working to tackle social exclusion. Secondly, as Michael McMahon the sports fan, I am pleased that the Parliament is turning its attention to this important area.

I welcome much of what Rhona Brankin has said today about the link between sport and tackling social exclusion and about the Executive's strategy to promote sport throughout Scotland. The contribution that sport can make in the fight against social disadvantage cannot be overstated. The benefits of participation in sport are clear in terms of health improvements, community cohesion, social development and the sense of personal achievement.

As a keen follower of sport and as someone again familiarising myself with the inside of the gym, I welcome the Executive's sport for all philosophy, even for thirty-something MSPs. I also welcome the Executive's commitment to widening participation for all in sport. All Scots, regardless of their level of ability, income, gender or age, should have access to good-quality sports facilities and opportunities to participate.

I welcome the Executive's moves to increase sports opportunities for our young people. Over the years, many children have been denied the chance to participate in sport and develop their talents. I was pleased when Labour launched the new Scottish institute for sport to provide opportunities for everyone under 18 to get involved, and stay involved, in sporting activity.

I welcome the team sport initiative, which has helped 180,000 young people and 12,000 coaches, teachers and leaders, the top sport programme to encourage active play and sport in primary schools and the action taken to tackle the loss of playing fields through the new planning procedures.

Photo of Fiona McLeod Fiona McLeod Scottish National Party

I am interested that two Labour members have now mentioned the top sport scheme. Do they realise that the budget for the scheme for the years 1999 to 2003 is only £700,000? The majority of its budget comes through sponsorship from British Telecom, not through money from the Executive.

Photo of Michael McMahon Michael McMahon Labour

I am disappointed that someone could be annoyed that £700,000 is being spent. We must look on the positive side.

The Executive has placed great emphasis on the development of sport in Scotland. I welcome its commitment in the programme for government to establishing a Scottish football academy, with associated network academies, and to ensuring that every school in Scotland has a sports co-ordinator in place by 2003. I note that a football partnership has been established to take forward proposals for football academies, which will be in place over the next three years.

As a member with two social inclusion partnerships operating in my constituency, I am glad that the key role of SIPS in developing the link between sport and social inclusion has been highlighted by the minister.

While discussing the role of sport in social inclusion, I would like to raise the issue of the Scottish Football League's recent decision to fine Hamilton Academical football club 15 points for failing to fulfil a fixture in April of this year.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Ally Dawson, the club's manager. I was heartened to hear his plans for taking the players around south Lanarkshire schools and public parks for training sessions in an effort to encourage young people to become active in sport and to raise the profile of the club, which has been away from the town for six years. He did not pontificate about social inclusion or theorise about the importance of sport for education, but he could see the practical support that he, the players and the club could give to the local community from the privileged position that they have.

As members may be aware, the decision by the SFL, which was described as "savage" by one football commentator, Brian Scott, will relegate the Accies to division 3 for next season. It penalises the players, the fans and the town. Equally important, it threatens the future finances of the club when, today, it has just been announced that it has been given the go-ahead for the planned new stadium project to return to the town.

The decision is about more than the Accies club. The decision by the SFL directly threatens the livelihood of players, who were forced to take industrial action against their employer because payment of their salaries had been delayed, not for the first time, because of the club's already precarious financial situation. Those are the same players who are willing to take part in community outreach projects, which are so valuable to the Executive's sports strategy.

Regardless of the internal politics of Hamilton Accies, the league's decision will force the club, which is already hard up, to make further savings from the pay bill. The livelihoods of the club's support staff as well as its players will be threatened by the ruling—not much social inclusion there. I think that it is the league's responsibility to assist its member clubs to get away from the breadline rather than to put them on it or, as in the case of Hamilton Accies, to take the bread from their mouths.

An appeal on the decision will be taken tomorrow. I hope that the Executive and the Parliament will send the message to the Scottish Football League that it must reconsider the punishment, take into account the club's circumstances on the day on which it did not play Stenhousemuir, and not make its situation worse.

Photo of Keith Harding Keith Harding Conservative 4:21, 4 May 2000

The policy of inclusiveness in sport for all members of society that is proposed by the Executive is laudable and has cross-party support. We acknowledge the achievements so far and do not wish to appear negative, but find it difficult to understand how the policy can be fully delivered without adequate financing. I hope that the minister will enlighten us about where in the Scottish block the resources that are required to deliver the policy will come from and about the services that will suffer as a result.

In "Sport 21", the Scottish Sports Council suggested the facilities that were required to begin to address social inclusion and sport in general. I regret that I will have to list some of them, but I think that we have to be aware of the enormous task that the Parliament faces: 11 new build or replacement swimming pools; 38 indoor bowling halls; 11 athletic tracks; 160 sports centres; 19 ice halls; 98 squash courts; 500 replacement and 400 new outdoor tennis courts; 47 municipal pay-as-you-play golf courses; 80 synthetic grass pitches; 307 grass pitches for football and hockey; 80 cricket pitches; and 250 various refurbishments. Those are community facilities for councils to run. An extensive array of national and regional facilities that are too numerous to detail here are also required.

In 1998, the total cost that was projected to 2003 was more than £220 million, of which community facilities represented almost £120 million. To fund that ambitious programme, local authorities would be required to find some £22 million per annum, which is equivalent to just over half of their current gross capital expenditure on such facilities. That takes no account of the substantial revenue expenditure that will be incurred and will have to be met mainly by councils, which are cutting back on those services. Is this another area that will be top-sliced by the Minister for Finance?

Councils have had to increase charges for leisure and sports facilities because of the recent local government settlement. If the facilities that are proposed are provided, the question of affordability will arise. In the late 1980s, Stirling District Council introduced the very successful passport for leisure scheme, which gave access to the unemployed, pensioners and low-income families to all leisure and sports facilities, at reduced prices or even free. Such a scheme could be considered nationally, but if it were, we would again run into the question of costs as councils are cutting back in those areas.

Opening up sport and leisure to the socially disadvantaged—low-income families, pensioners, ethnic minorities and the unemployed—is not a question only of concessions on charges. We must promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, provide transportation, equipment and clothing and improve accessibility, all of which have cost implications. Who will pay? New burdens must be financed in full. We would appreciate an explanation of how this worthy policy can be delivered.

Photo of Sandra White Sandra White Scottish National Party 4:24, 4 May 2000

I sometimes wonder whether, if talking were a sport, politicians could get sponsorship. I applaud all the organisations and individuals who participate in activities that keep the kids off the streets and give them a decent education and something to look forward to. I welcome the debate because it is the role of Government to achieve equal opportunities for all and to ensure that our people, young and old, benefit from a healthy lifestyle and access to some form of exercise, whether it is organised sport or something else.

It is time for me to use the not-so-nice words, minister. The consequences of the real cuts in local government moneys—£255 million to be exact—by the Executive and the school rationalisation programme are that schools are closing down, playing fields are being lost and swimming pools are being shut. As a result, more folk will be socially excluded than will be included. I ask the Executive to think again about giving more money to local government.

Photo of Johann Lamont Johann Lamont Labour

Does the member agree that often when we discuss social inclusion and sport, we are focusing on boys—football and so on—in the hope that eventually some of them will play for a team that we hold dear? Would Sandra White acknowledge some of the important initiatives that identify the needs of women in sport? Would she join me in congratulating Glasgow City Council on supporting the women's 10K on 14 May? I am not mentioning it just because I am going to be running in it, but because it is a useful initiative and I hope that the member will join me on the day.

Photo of Sandra White Sandra White Scottish National Party

I am certainly thinking about it. I support Glasgow City Council's initiative to encourage more women to run in groups, which allows them to feel safe. People can get application forms for the run from any Glasgow City Council library.

I would like to draw Johann Lamont's attention to an aspect of the amendment. Is she aware that by attaching the football academies to association football clubs, girls and women are automatically excluded from participation? [MEMBERS: "No."] Association football has a rule prohibiting mixed football above the age of 13.

"Investing in You" says that the Executive will raise the standard of performance of all sports. As Fiona McLeod said, that is supposed to be done with a spend of less than £2 per head, in comparison to Denmark where the spend is £42 per head. I ask the minister whether the Executive is investing enough money in that. Taken together with the cut in moneys to local government, even Houdini could not escape the fact that there might be social exclusion.

I would like to concentrate on the situation in Glasgow for a few minutes.

Photo of Sandra White Sandra White Scottish National Party

One minute? That certainly will be brief.

I want to list the playing fields that have been lost in the Glasgow area because of the school closure programme and Glasgow City Council's policy: Cowlairs, Colston Road, Torr Street, Ellesmere Street, Ruchill park, Springburn park, Balmore Road and Lambhill. More recently, we have lost the playing fields at Chirnside school and St Augustine's school.

Patricia Ferguson and I attended a meeting in Glasgow City Council about the closure of those playing fields. The minister may think that it is not about money, yet the planning committee's submission to the council says:

"Although there is presumption against redevelopment of sports pitches, account should be taken of the need to create a financial asset to bolster the PFI process to build new schools."

That is a terrible indictment of the Executive and what it is doing to local government.

Not everyone has a car, not everyone can afford to go to sports centres and not everyone wants to participate in sport in a centre. I urge the minister to ask Gordon Brown for more of his surplus cash to give to local authorities on the proviso that they spend it on saving playing fields for local communities.

Photo of George Lyon George Lyon Liberal Democrat 4:29, 4 May 2000

I would like to talk about our real national game, which dates back some 2,000 years: shinty. I was delighted that the minister attended a presentation last night on how the problems facing our national game may be overcome. The minister may play a vital role in overcoming some of those problems.

I have some information for those members who are not aware of shinty, where it is played or what it is about—or for those members who were at the presentation, but have some problems recollecting what was said. Shinty is indigenous to Scotland; it is a team game played with a stick and ball throughout the country. Its real strength lies in the Highlands, particularly in Argyll and Bute where there are between 12 and 14 teams. It is a team game that is based on strong family ties. The Kingussie team that played in the Camanachd cup final last year contained three brothers. It has real community identity and great community spirit, with community support for many of the teams.

Photo of Patricia Ferguson Patricia Ferguson Labour

Does the member agree that one of the truly fascinating things about the development of shinty in the past few years is its inclusive policy towards women and girls? What would seem to outsiders to be a very macho game is making itself as open as it can to young people of pre-school age—by first using plastic sticks—and especially to women.

Photo of George Lyon George Lyon Liberal Democrat

I thank the member. I had been going to mention that, but she has taken half of my speech.

Like football, which some regard as our national game, every Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock, thousands of players throughout the Highlands and Islands, and indeed throughout Scotland, play shinty. Unlike football, we do not kick off; we throw up—that is the official title. My recollection of football games was that throwing up usually happened at 3 o'clock on a Sunday morning after the game.

Shinty is a unique game, which is strong in the Highlands. However, there are still university teams, in Edinburgh and in other parts of the country. The big challenge is to try to develop it in other areas of the country. Shinty provides access to organised sports. There are two national leagues, five area leagues and three national youth competitions. The premier competition is the Camanachd cup. The semi-finals are being played this weekend; the final will be next month.

There is an international dimension to the shinty: the international series, in which shinty players and the hurling fraternity from Ireland have a one-off international game, usually every summer. It is an exciting game, which is normally televised and is well worth watching.

The real challenges facing the game are how we can encourage youth development more within rural communities and how we can encourage urban communities to take the game up. The key point is that only two development officers cover the whole of Scotland. It is an impossible task for those people to engage with communities and schools and to try to develop the game.

Shinty has become dependent on sponsorship. Much of the budget is sponsorship related. If shinty is to continue, work has to take place in schools to encourage young people to take up the game at an early age, before other diversions—which Duncan Cameron, the president of the Camanachd Association, described as "women and drink"—come into view when they reach 14 and 15. That is not a politically correct way of putting it, but there we go.

If shinty is to develop, and it is important for rural communities that it does, I ask the minister to consider an increase to the £15,000 core funding from sportscotland, which has been frozen for the past five years. It is a ridiculously low figure. I ask the minister to put some real money in, so that shinty can go from strength to strength in future.

Photo of Patricia Ferguson Patricia Ferguson Labour

Finally, with apologies to members who have not been called, Dennis Canavan.

Photo of Dennis Canavan Dennis Canavan Independent 4:33, 4 May 2000

I welcome this opportunity to debate the role of sport in social inclusion and the importance of sport as part of personal and community development. At an international level, Scotland's performance in sport often leaves a lot to be desired.

Participation in sport is important for improving standards, but it is also of crucial importance for social and health reasons. Recent research at Ninewells hospital revealed that a quarter of 11 to 14-year-old children showed signs of heart disease. Another study at Yorkhill hospital found that child obesity had more than doubled over the past decade. Those problems are due not only to bad diet but to lack of physical activity.

The relationship between sport, health and education must be given greater priority. In the limited time available, I want to devote most of my remarks to school sport. I welcome what the minister has said about the appointment of school sports co-ordinators, but the role of the teacher is also important. Sadly, school sport has never recovered fully from the teachers' dispute of the 1980s. It would be unrealistic to imagine that we can turn the clock back to the good old days when teachers worked unpaid overtime to run school sports teams, but the McCrone committee should consider what must be done to encourage more teachers to help develop sports opportunities for young people.

The Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Bill refers to

"the development of the personality, talents and mental and physical abilities of the child or young person to their fullest potential."

If that potential is to be fulfilled, school sport must be given greater priority. It is all very well, and desirable, for children to be educated in literacy, numeracy and computer skills, but if they spend most of their leisure time glued to a television or a computer screen, their social skills and their health will be the losers.

I read in a recent report that one local education authority in Scotland had banned competitive football for primary schoolchildren. Of course, there are perfectly sound reasons for concentrating, at an early age, on basic ball skills and not forcing young children into 11-a-side competitive matches on full-size pitches, but a complete ban on competitive football for all primary schoolchildren is ludicrous. Sport, by its very nature, is competitive and children can learn a lot from competing and from the experience of losing as well as winning.

I welcome the recent announcement that sportscotland will invest £2.8 million in a new programme to improve sports opportunities and standards of physical fitness for children aged four to 12. That is a positive, exciting initiative. Not long ago, the main emphasis of Government policy on sport was to encourage people to continue participation after they had left school, but if young people do not participate when they are at school, there is nothing to continue.

The Scottish Executive must show a lead in trying to ensure that the sportscotland initiative is a success. That will require team effort, and the teacher is a key player in the team. If teachers are given the status, the resources and the incentives that are required, the children in our schools will benefit and Scotland can become a nation of winners with a higher degree of social inclusion and community spirit.

Photo of Donald Gorrie Donald Gorrie Liberal Democrat 4:37, 4 May 2000

First, I have some sincere advice for the SNP. If the debate had been handled correctly, there might have been a chance for a motion to be agreed that included what Rhona Brankin proposed and at least some of the ideas in the SNP amendment. However, it is not realistic to expect the Executive to agree to cut out a sentence that commends its work.

If the SNP wants merely to embarrass me and other members who—although we agree with the sentiments of its amendment—feel that we have to support the Executive loyally, that is okay; it can go ahead. If, however, the SNP wants to achieve something, which it could have done—we could have had parliamentary approval for some of its ideas—I suggest that, in future, it negotiates. That has happened in any decent council in which I have ever been involved. Very often, agreement can be reached if people negotiate in advance and say, "If we say this, will you say that?"

Photo of Sandra White Sandra White Scottish National Party

Mr Gorrie is advising the SNP that if it negotiates, it may get a settlement. Perhaps if he advised Jim Wallace and the Executive, he might get an agreement. Mr Gorrie should keep his advisements for his own party and not direct them at us.

Photo of Donald Gorrie Donald Gorrie Liberal Democrat

I am saying, merely, that if the SNP wishes to get something carried, it can negotiate; if it does not want to, that is up to it. I agree that it is up to the Executive to respond to any overtures from the SNP. If I am wasting my breath in trying to give advice, so be it.

There must be more funding for all council services. Funding for recreation has continued to be cut, year after year. The Executive must examine that issue.

We must use other budgets to aid social inclusion through sport and other community and youth activities. That will be difficult, as other departments—such as health, social work, police, education or housing—will have to give up a part, although a very wee part of their budgets to fund such activities. A more inclusive coaching and administrative system demands a certain amount—though not a great deal—of money. In that way, we can recruit professionals, whether physical education teachers or professional coaches, to coach volunteers so that we can make use of the huge resources of people over 50, for example, who have retired early and could coach all kinds of sports. Furthermore, there should be more money for sport in primary and secondary schools and for after-school activities, which might require people to be paid.

We must also examine the huge administrative costs and priorities of the lottery. As the lottery involves much unnecessary bureaucracy, and its funding mechanism is separate from the rest of sportscotland, we should find out whether there are any cheaper methods of securing funding. Any lottery system that pours millions into a white elephant such as Hampden needs serious examination.

I support the argument for using a small amount of money to help the supporters clubs movement. That is not merely the fad of one or two MSPs; there is cross-party support for it, as it is a good idea. Although the minister is right to say that such a movement is not the only way forward, it is one way forward. Professionals are prepared to give advice, but money is needed to get local schemes off the ground—I seriously urge the use of some community development money, which need not be sports funding. It is very important for a community, particularly a deprived community, to feel involved in a reasonably successful local professional football team.

Photo of Brian Monteith Brian Monteith Conservative 4:42, 4 May 2000

Listening to David Mundell's speech, I was reminded of the original playground policy on social inclusion: "One potato, two potato, three potato, four." That rhyme ensured that a speccy four-eyes like me could get into the team at the first pick. As Ian Jenkins mentioned, I later found out that being in sport was the coolest thing. It was my lack of vision, not my svelte figure, that let me down when, at a rugby trial, I dived triumphantly over the line with the oval ball—only to find that it was the 25 yd line.

I listened to the minister with interest and agree with many of her comments: I, too, want a Scotland where everyone matters. She mentioned jobs, education, housing and health, to which I would add safety, in the sense of the rule of law. She also talked about sports and the arts. Perhaps in her closing remarks she will mention any developments towards considering sport as part of the culture of this society and whether it will be mentioned in the cultural strategy when that is published.

I pay tribute to Raymond Robertson, who, when he was the minister with responsibility for sport, laid the foundations for "Sport 21", an initiative behind which all parties can unite. The "Sport 21" document has some interesting statistics on broadening social inclusion. For example, there were 125 swimming pools in 1989 compared with 164 pools by 1997. In 1989, there were 60 development officers; that number has now grown more than five times to 337. In 1989, only nine national governing body courses—organisation being an important aspect of inclusion—were held in the Highlands. By 1997, there were 60. Things have been moving in the right direction and I have every reason to believe that the Executive's policies aim to further that, which I welcome.

Sport is not all positive; some aspects of it can be negative and we must guard and campaign against those. In particular, there is the problem of sectarianism within sport, of which we are all aware and which I am sure the chamber will unify in fighting against. Certainly, my eyes were opened when I first turned up at a Rangers match and was given verbal abuse. I could not understand why, as someone who just happened to be wearing green and who was a Protestant—

Photo of Tommy Sheridan Tommy Sheridan SSP

It was because you were a Tory.

Photo of Brian Monteith Brian Monteith Conservative

I could not understand why someone would think that I was a member of some religious faith not akin to that of Rangers, but there we are; we find those things out. In other areas, especially in racism in sport, there is still much to be done. I point the minister to the issue of Asians in football. Asians have a love of football—they play it in the street—yet there is scant evidence of them coming forward through our coaching system.

Photo of Karen Gillon Karen Gillon Labour

On that point, will the member join me in congratulating Craig Brown, Rangers, Celtic and other clubs on the launch of their "Kick racism out of football" initiative, the biggest of its kind, which I hope will kick racism from the terraces of Scottish football once and for all?

Photo of Brian Monteith Brian Monteith Conservative

I certainly welcome the initiative.

I echo the comments made by Margo MacDonald about specialist teachers—a policy that I feel needs particularly strong support. I would like to hear from the minister about what more can be done to protect playing fields, which are particularly important in allowing access to sport for people of all ages and both sexes.

We have lodged an amendment to the Executive's motion because we remain to be convinced that the Executive can meet the targets that it sets. However, we wish the Executive well in setting out to achieve those targets.

Photo of Lloyd Quinan Lloyd Quinan Scottish National Party 4:47, 4 May 2000

This has been an interesting and wide-ranging debate. It has also led us to discuss the remits of other organisations, particularly the Scottish Football League, the Scottish Football Association and sportscotland.

Everyone on the SNP benches seeks to eliminate prejudice and inequality in all areas of Scottish life and to promote social inclusion. The Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport has announced a number of initiatives today, with figures attached, but we have had little in the way of a practical presentation of how the structures will come to pass. I will seek answers from the Minister for Children and Education in his closing remarks, particularly on the cuts in funding for sport, which amount to close to 20 per cent this year. We want to know whether he intends to freeze funding next year and what he intends to do about the loss of more than £5 million a year in lottery funding for sport.

The crucial element, which many members have touched on, is that, until we sort out the local government settlement, it will be extremely difficult to deliver an enormous amount of what everyone in the chamber wants. So many areas are a matter for local government, yet we never seem to be able to give a strategic direction to local authorities, which ties in with the lack of finance.

In her opening remarks, the Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport referred to the fact that decisions about funding are made by sportscotland. Why, then, do we have a sports minister? She also referred to the research that is being done on promoting social inclusion and said that the delivery date would be some time in the near future. I hope that Mr Galbraith will be able to give us at least an approximate date, "near" and "future" being not exactly specific.

I thought that what Cathy Jamieson had to say was very interesting. As always, Cathy enters these debates with practical examples. I have to support the SNP's preference for supporters coming first. That would entail a branch structure in Scotland that would address the current concerns among many supporters of football clubs in Scotland and develop a sense of social inclusion.

The football academies have taken up many headlines. We are not absolutely convinced that their attachment to Scottish Premier League clubs promotes social inclusion. Our feeling is that their attachment to clubs such as Hamilton Academical, Brechin City or the clubs in the lower divisions would help to secure the future of those clubs and to promote social inclusion. We have two specific concerns about the academies. First, the Scottish Premier League clubs will gain the advantage of training, facilities and the services of the graduates, but we do not know what the payback to taxpayers in Scotland will be. Secondly, is the Executive thinking seriously along the lines adopted in other countries in Europe, that a percentage of transfer fees for graduates of the academies could go back into those facilities? We believe that that would be a sensible approach.

As there are already football academies up and running, serving the needs of what are businesses that seek to make profit in the longer term—I can cite most of the SPL clubs, including Rangers, Celtic, Kilmarnock and St Johnstone, and I should mention last week's fantastic announcement by Hibernian Football Club and Midlothian Council—we would like proper devolution of the academies, possibly to the area sports institutes. They could be attached to first division, second division or third division clubs.

It has been mentioned that girls in Scotland are not allowed to play mixed football over the age of 13. This could have further effects with regard to Europe, the Union of European Football Associations and FIFA, but it would be useful if the Executive could at least meet the Scottish Football Association and suggest that it develops social inclusion not just in Scotland, but throughout the footballing world—it should address the issue to UEFA and FIFA—by a change in the Football Association rulebook that would allow mixed football over the age of 13.

We are aware that women apprentices are attached to a couple of clubs in Scotland. That is a remarkable step forward. However, do we provide sufficient support for those women who have chosen to enter the profession actually to have careers as professional footballers in this country? The Executive needs to speak to the Scottish Football League, the Scottish Football Association and the SPL clubs on that issue, too.

One initiative that has been suggested is that of a professional league for women in Scotland. If it were properly developed, that could tie in with the SPL. The women's league's games could be played on the same day in the same stadiums, thereby clearly promoting the inclusion of women in sport.

We would support the motion if it were not so self-congratulatory and if it did not set out so little about the structure through which the Executive intends to achieve what it pats itself on the back for. We therefore ask that members support the SNP amendment.

Photo of Sam Galbraith Sam Galbraith Labour

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

I shall not bore everyone with my prowess as a sportsman; instead, I shall start by congratulating the many individuals who give unflinchingly and unstintingly of their time to look after people who play sport. They look after my kids and the kids of other members. They give of their time with no recompense and no satisfaction other than taking part in and promoting their sport. I would like, on behalf of the Executive and, I hope, the whole Parliament, to thank all those individuals.

I go along with the comments of Brian Monteith and thank Raymond Robertson and Michael Forsyth—there, I have said those two words—for their contribution to sport. Dennis Canavan, who was around at the time, will agree that sport was non-party political, and that we had much co-operation from Michael Forsyth at the time—I have said those two words twice in the one debate, so there you are. I had hoped that we could have had this debate in a similar context, so I am sorry that amendments to the motion were lodged. I would like to think, however, that we could take things forward in a non-party political manner.

That is one of the reasons why we have sportscotland: to try to keep politics out of the business of the distribution of funds. Once money is distributed to individuals and groups on a political basis, we will get it wrong. Decisions have to be based on what is best for sport, not what is best for our vote. People who would mix politics and sport do sport a great disservice.

I have no problem with the SNP amendment, other than with the fact that, as Donald Gorrie said, it is an impossibility. Moreover, it states what is happening already. There are already 60 sports councils and I do not see the point in accepting an amendment that would delete mention of some of the things that we want and that states what is already happening.

Fiona McLeod made a number of points but I think that it would help if she read the relevant documents and understood the figures. She made some spurious comparisons between the amount that we spend and the amount spent by other countries. I will give her a bit of advice: be careful about international comparisons and remember to compare like with like. Denmark has a starting rate of income tax of 40p in the pound. That might be what the SNP wants, but we should be careful with such figures. She quoted a figure of £1.91 per head in Scotland. I do not know where she got that from. Sportscotland's figure is £1.69, but added to that investment is the lottery funding of £20 million a year and almost £100 million a year in local authority investment. That takes us well over £10 per head. The SNP must remember to get its figures right and try not to make everyone look as poor as possible by girning away with the lowest figure. I will give a valid international comparison. Sportscotland spends £1.69 per head whereas, in England, only 76p per head is spent. Even the SNP will have trouble girning about that.

I agree that the amount of spending in deprived areas has always been a problem, but I think that it is fair to point out that 20 per cent of lottery sports allocation is for areas that we consider to be deprived. That is not a bad proportion, so I will again advise the SNP to be careful about using statistics selectively. We acknowledge that there was a problem. That is why we ensured that lottery allocation had to be involved with social inclusion and gave sportscotland the power to generate applications.

Photo of Fiona McLeod Fiona McLeod Scottish National Party

One hopes that sportscotland will apply the guidelines correctly. As Mr Monteith told us, the organisations from which it most recently generated applications were the Edinburgh merchant schools, for cricket.

Photo of Sam Galbraith Sam Galbraith Labour

Of course, that is not quite the case. Again, we see the SNP using half of a piece of information. The directions were given to sportscotland after that point. Fiona McLeod should read the documents before she speaks about such matters.

Cathy Jamieson talked about the important area of football supporters trusts. I would like to compliment Kilmarnock Football Club on the contribution that it makes. For a lot of football clubs, particularly in small communities—

Photo of Sam Galbraith Sam Galbraith Labour

Ayr, too—I include them all. Everyone shout more names and I will include them, too.

Photo of Sam Galbraith Sam Galbraith Labour

Alloa, there we are. I include them all.

Football clubs play an important role in social inclusion in their communities and I pay tribute to that fact.

On the important question of football supporters trusts, my only worry is that a lot of the formal organisations are not all that keen on the idea. We should not rush into this. I heard Michael McMahon talking about Hamilton Accies. I well understand his problems and I hope that the football league will hear what he has said.

I do not want to talk too much about football, but I have to correct something that Sandra White said. Football academies have to be used by the community. They will not be limited to premier league clubs and they will have a geographic spread. On the issue of playing fields, she should be aware that national planning policy guideline 11 ensures that the Sports Council must be consulted and that, if the Sports Council does not give its approval, we have to take its views into account.

Keith Harding asked how we would find the extra £200 million-odd. That £200 million has already been found; he will receive a report from the Sports Council on grant aid and matching funds.

Sport is of great value to health and pleasure, but its inclusive role has so far been neglected. That is an important role, which the Executive wants to reinforce. I therefore commend our motion to the Parliament.