The Scottish Sports Association is an independent member-led organisation that supports voluntary sport, and the Government’s decision to remove its funding has been met with widespread dismay and anger, with every single Opposition member of the Parliament signing a motion to that effect. Given that there is no majority in the chamber for that decision, will the First Minister urgently revisit that cut and live by her personal promise to champion Scottish sport?

The Scottish Government has a good relationship with the SSA and we strongly appreciate the support that it provides. This week, the Minister for Public Health and Sport met the SSA and representatives of the cross-party group on sport to discuss how we develop a sustainable financial future for the SSA. Aileen Campbell has been clear that we continue to consider ways in which the SSA can have a sustainable future that supports collaborative working to create the active Scotland that we all want. We will continue to take forward those deliberations, and I hope that we can get to a position that is good for the SSA and for sport in general.

I remind members that we invest heavily in sport generally, and that the draft budget is committed to increasing the funding for sportscotland by £2 million. We have also pledged to underwrite any potential shortfall in national lottery funding for sportscotland of up to £3.4 million to provide certainty for the sport sector in the absence of action from the United Kingdom Government. We will continue to take decisions that are in the interests of developing sport across our country.