Hansard

I am pleased to speak in support of the petition, which recognises the value of swimming pools and calls for financial relief to help to keep them open across Scotland. I have long advocated on the issue in the Parliament. Indeed, in this parliamentary session, I have lodged two motions on the topic, both of which achieved cross-party support. Back in March 2023, I held what I felt to be a successful garden lobby event entitled “Everyone Can Swim—Save Our Pools”. The issue is something that I am quite invested in.

As others have said, swimming pools are vital community assets. They play a central role in reducing the risk of drowning and improving physical and mental health, and they support wellbeing across all age groups. They provide structured and safe environments in which people can build confidence, learn life-saving skills and maintain active lifestyles. Scottish Swimming has estimated the social value of swimming in the UK to be almost £2.5 billion, which illustrates that modest investment now can deliver significant long-term benefits for society.

As Karen Adam said, we must challenge the perception of swimming as simply another leisure activity. Swimming is a life-saving skill. For many of us when growing up, swimming lessons were embedded in the school curriculum, ensuring that every child, regardless of background, had the chance to learn. That sense of universality has weakened. Today, access to swimming lessons can depend on whether families can afford them, whether a local pool still exists and whether it can accommodate the lessons.

That matters profoundly at a time when more people are accessing open water for leisure and health reasons. Scotland’s lochs, rivers and coastline offer incredible opportunities, but they also bring risks. If fewer people have basic swimming skills while participating in outdoor swimming, the consequences could be serious. Swimming pools are therefore as much about safety as they are about recreation.

Pools also play a key role in tackling inequality. Growing up in Coatbridge, visits to the local municipal baths were built into the school curriculum, from primary right through to secondary school. Everyone took part. As I referenced earlier, from an early age, we were taught that swimming was a basic life skill. However, when facilities close, it is often those in lower-income communities who lose out most. Travel distances increase, costs rise and participation drops. If we are serious about addressing health and economic inequalities, we must ensure that swimming pools remain accessible and affordable across the country.

I recognise the financial pressures that local authorities face. Rising energy costs throughout the UK, which are particularly steep in the context of swimming pools, as well as ageing infrastructure and stretched budgets, have created a difficult environment. Although decisions about local facilities sit with councils, it is clear that the challenge cannot be met by local government alone. A collaborative approach is needed, involving local authorities, leisure trusts, national agencies and all levels of government.

In my constituency, North Lanarkshire Council has recently invested millions in the well-known Time Capsule in Coatbridge, which has already been referred to and which includes a 25m pool as well as the more renowned water park. That has been very welcome, but it has partly come about because the public have always shown, at every turn, a strength of feeling towards the facility. My point is that swimming pools carry vast public support. In contrast, the nearby John Smith pool in the cabinet secretary’s constituency has been closed for some time due to the cost of on-going repairs. Given that my constituents also use that facility, I have supported him and local councillors in efforts to have the pool reopened. I am pleased that his campaign has been successful, with plans to open again soon. I commend him for that.

There should be more pools across our communities, not fewer. I must acknowledge that the Scottish Government has recognised the pressures at a national level and increased funding for local government in the most recent budget. That is important, but it does not remove the need for targeted support where pools are at risk. Exploring options such as energy cost relief, capital investment, efficiency upgrades and longer-term sustainability could make a real difference.

There is also more to do on swimming education, as others have mentioned. Although I recognise the flexibility afforded by the curriculum for excellence and the practical challenges that some schools face, we should continue to explore how every child can be given a genuine opportunity to learn to swim.