Hansard

Thank you very much, Presiding Officer.

I am very happy to have this opportunity to close the debate. I begin by joining others in congratulating Margaret Mitchell on lodging the motion for debate this evening, to help to raise the profile generally of Hamilton Academical Football Club, but especially to raise the profile of the community work that it undertakes. I begin by welcoming the representatives of the club who have joined us in the gallery this evening. I wish Hamilton Academical all the best for rest of the season—although I caveat that by saying that I hope that that begins after Saturday, when they will play my club, Partick Thistle. That is a personal view, rather than an official Scottish Government position.

Football is our national game, and clubs are the heart and soul of communities throughout Scotland, from professional clubs at the top level to the local junior and amateur clubs. I recognise that there are issues and challenges in football—everyone in the chamber is aware of that. However, I also firmly believe that football is a powerful force for good, so I welcome the opportunity to focus on the positive impact of football in general, and of Hamilton Accies in particular.

Sport has been shown to improve both physical and mental health, as well as to bring communities together, regardless of age, gender or religion. As the Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, I have been fortunate enough to visit across the country a number of clubs that are cornerstones of their local communities.

George Adam, when he intervened on Clare Adamson a few moments ago, spoke about football clubs as anchors for community activity. I was a little surprised that he did not manage to mention his own club—St Mirren. That was most unlike him. I can say to Mr Adam and other members that I know from visiting clubs in many parts of the country that such activity is already happening.

I commend Hamilton Accies for the services that they provide in addition to allowing other bodies access to their ground to do good work. As we have heard, the club’s commitment is wide ranging and includes running of addiction programmes that help families that are affected by alcoholism and addiction, development of social skills and self-esteem in young people, work in autism, and supporting carers and men who are retired or thinking of retiring. It is clear that the club’s commitment is genuine and long standing, and is woven into the fabric of its ethos.

With regard to the club’s sporting prowess, it would not go amiss to mention its track record in developing young players and, crucially, in giving them an opportunity. The club is exceptional in that regard.

Hamilton Accies’ contribution to rehabilitating people with convictions and re-integrating them into the community is very positive. It gives prisoners who are approaching the end of long sentences a chance to prepare for their release, and it can help them to return to the community ready to be productive members of society. I would be the first to recognise the perilous dangers of mentioning the Steelmen in a debate on Hamilton Accies, but Motherwell Football Club should be included for its work in that regard. Hamilton Accies and Motherwell are working in partnership with the Scottish Prison Service to provide useful opportunities for prisoners to enable them to begin getting used to everyday life by undertaking a normal daily work routine of general maintenance duties at the clubs. The SPS continues during that time to assess those who are involved in order to ensure that they are conducting themselves properly and demonstrating their readiness for transition to the open estate in our prison system and eventually to release.

The “football fans in training” initiative, which is run by the SPFL Trust and funded by the Scottish Government, is a hugely successful lifestyle programme. It was originally aimed at men aged 35 and over who have a waist size of 38 inches or more. The programme is designed to increase knowledge of diet and nutrition, improve lifestyle choices, increase physical activity among the participants, reduce weight and waist measurements, and increase engagement in other physical activity.

Hamilton Accies has also used funding from the SPFL Trust to deliver a programme with the charity Blameless, which has also been mentioned tonight. Together they are working to raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol and drugs, and to educate, or advance the education of, young people and families with regard to alcoholism and addiction. That is a welcome development that tallies closely with the Scottish Government’s wider work in that area. Indeed, I understand that my colleague Paul Wheelhouse, the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, visited the project in January and was very impressed with the work that was taking place.

As the minister who has responsibility for policy on autism, I welcome the work of Hamilton Accies in supporting people with autism and their families and carers. The Scottish Government is committed to improving the lives of people with autism and learning disabilities and their carers and families. The Scottish strategy for autism was launched in November 2011; it is a 10-year programme that is designed to meet the needs of people with autism in Scotland. Its core ambition is that people with autism should be able to participate in all aspects of the community and society in which they live, work and socialise.