Participation in Sport
The next item of business is the debate on motion S1M-3192, in the name of Mike Watson, on the value of participation in sport and how it can increase the quality of life, together with two amendments to that motion.
I welcome the opportunity to recognise sport's valuable contribution to improving the quality of life for everyone in Scotland. I want to highlight the important work that is under way to update sport 21, our national strategy for sport, to inform and guide the way forward in developing sport in Scotland.
The Government in Scotland is firmly committed to the ethos of sport for all. It is essential that we provide more opportunities for more people to be more active more often. As I said, sport 21 is the national strategy for sport and we are carrying forward its threefold vision of widening opportunities, identifying and nurturing potential and achieving excellence.
When sport 21 was introduced in 1998, it set four key challenges. The first challenge concerned local strategic planning for sport. So far, sports and recreation plans have been introduced by 14 local authorities and are in preparation by a further four. Sportscotland and the Executive will continue to encourage local authorities to develop sports strategies as recommended in sport 21.
The second challenge was to establish a physical activity task force to bring together all the relevant agencies at national and local level. The task force was to agree a shared agenda for joint action to develop Scotland as a nation of participants who pursue active lifestyles. The report of that task force was published last Thursday.
At the launch, my colleague Malcolm Chisholm announced the appointment of Mary Allison as Scotland's first physical activity co-ordinator. Mary Allison will help the task force to produce the final version of the strategy, which is currently out for consultation. She will also help to co-ordinate the work of the Government and its partners so that we can meet the 20-year targets that have been set for improvements in physical activity.
That report dispels any doubts about the need to tackle the couch-potato lifestyle that it highlights. That type of sedentary lifestyle is not only the cause of Scotland's big three killers—cancer, heart disease and stroke—but an important factor in several other conditions. The other side of the coin is that a physically active lifestyle brings a range of positive health benefits.
The task force proposes the target that 50 per cent of those over the age of 16 and 80 per cent of those aged 16 and under should meet the minimum recommended levels of physical activity by 2022. That seems a long way off, but if we are to achieve that target, we will require average increases of 1 per cent a year across the population.
Sport is by no means the only way of being physically active, but it is an important way because it is, or should be, a thoroughly enjoyable experience and because of the other benefits that it gives to individuals and to communities.
An annual survey has shown that, among children and young people, participation in sport is higher than might be believed. In the eight to 15 age group, 44 per cent participate four or more times a week in a sporting activity. As most youngsters take part at least occasionally in sport, the clear challenge is to encourage an increase in the frequency and intensity of most young people's exposure to sport and to ensure that they maintain that involvement into adult life.
The third challenge that was set by sport 21 was the establishment of the Scottish Institute of Sport, which was launched in 1998 and has recently moved to a new base in Stirling. The institute is supplemented by a network of six area institutes across Scotland. Nearly all of Scotland's 32 local authorities are involved in the various consortia that run those area institutes. That is a good example of the partnership working that we are trying to increase across local authorities, health authorities and education institutions.
Modernising sports governing bodies was the fourth key challenge. Through financial assistance, we are encouraging as much of that modernisation throughout Scotland as is possible.
After four years of sport 21, we can say that there is good progress on those four challenges. No one suggests that there is anything other than a lot more work to be done, but progress has certainly been made.
One of the aspects of developing sport 21 is human resources. For example, volunteers make an important contribution to the well-being of Scotland and its people. A significant proportion of volunteering is sports-related. Without that effort, little amateur sport would exist. That effort makes a major contribution to our social inclusion agenda. Sports volunteers help to build strong and active communities and they help to improve the quality of all our lives. The Scottish Executive and sportscotland are committed to improving support to volunteers and particularly to increasing the number of coaches working at local level, which we are doing through our active communities initiative.
A review of the national strategy for sport is under way and sportscotland, which has been asked to update sport 21, will report to me and to Elaine Murray in April 2003. The review will build on the work done over the past four years. It is not about reinventing the wheel or reconsidering what must be done. That has been established and the review will develop the strategy.
Sport helps to foster a sense of belonging. It builds self-esteem, particularly in young people, develops confidence and brings people together. The importance of sport in diverting young people from a potential life of crime or involvement with drugs is clear. That forms an important part of the thinking behind the strategy.
All the benefits of sport should be available to everyone, regardless of gender, age, background or personal circumstances. That is why, of the three visions of sport 21, we place the highest priority on widening opportunities and increasing participation in sport. We are determined to close the opportunity gap by giving more people the opportunity to be more active more often. In doing so, we must build into the strategy the fact that different factors govern the participation of women—particularly women with young children—in sport.
Does the minister acknowledge the essential roles played by the Glenmore outdoor centre and the Badaguish centre—both in my constituency—to ensure that young people can participate in sport? Does he acknowledge that people with a disability have the chance to participate in a wide range of sports at the Badaguish centre, which offers the opportunity for excellence in many sports?
Absolutely. I have visited Glenmore and been very impressed with the work that is going on. I have yet to visit the Badaguish centre but I hope to have the opportunity of doing so. Inclusivity is important. People with disabilities who want to make the most of their ability to participate in sport should certainly have every encouragement. Such participation should be made as easy as possible.
In our efforts to close the opportunity gap and promote social justice, social inclusion partnerships are at the core of the programmes that we use. In the programme for government there is a commitment to ensure that all social inclusion partnerships have a sports component. To help to deliver that commitment, sportscotland recently doubled the £1.5 million that it had been putting into the programme. That took effect from February of this year and work is moving ahead.
The New Opportunities Fund physical education and sport in schools programme will provide funds for a capital programme. Not only will that help to develop new and improved facilities in and around schools but, crucially, it will ensure that those facilities are available to the wider community. However, the programme is not only about bricks and mortar. We also have two revenue programmes: one will provide sporting and cultural activities during out-of-school hours, and the other will stimulate sports programmes in and around schools, with the aim of diverting young people away from crime and other anti-social activities.
Will the minister consider a problem that affects far-off parts of the Highlands—that of the cost of travel for people competing in sports?
The more rural areas certainly have difficulties. In our considerations for the active primary schools initiative and in our work with school sport co-ordinators in secondary schools, we are mindful of those difficulties. I am aware of the need to ensure that travel costs are covered and I will give an example of that being done. On 11 May, I attended the women's football day in Livingston. Women's football is one of the fastest growing sports in Scotland and one of the schools participating in one of the age-group finals was the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway. The institute's participation had been assisted not only for that day but for the various rounds that led up to it. I certainly take Dr Ewing's point.
Physical education has an important role to play in assisting schools to meet several of the national priorities, equipping pupils with the skills, attitudes and expectations necessary to prosper in society and to encourage the sort of creativity and ambition that will serve them well in future life. That is why in the months ahead, as a follow-on from the report of the physical activity task force, Nicol Stephen will chair a group to review the place of physical education in our schools.
Will the minister give way?
Will the minister give way?
Being a gentleman, I will let Margo MacDonald go first.
With reference to the review of PE in schools, will the minister tell us whether that will encompass both PE in primary schools and the number of sport graduates who come out of Scottish institutions?
The review will cover physical education across all schools. If young people become aware of the benefits of sport and enjoy it from an early age, they are more likely to carry that through the rest of their life. I do not think that the number of graduates will be part of the review. However, we appreciate the crucial role that sport graduates play in delivering and coaching physical activities for young people.
Has the minister formed the view that in order for physical education to become a core subject we have to make more dedicated time available in schools? The experience in many primary schools is that physical education has been ignored.
I want young children in schools, particularly those in primary schools, to have as much physical education as they can get, both in the curriculum and as after-school and weekend activities. I am in no doubt about that. That is why we are pushing the active primary school initiative, which is now in phase 3. We hope that almost 300 schools in more than two thirds of local authorities will participate in that initiative. I want to extend it to the maximum. I have no doubt about the benefits of that approach.
Will the minister give way?
I must press on.
It is essential that the facilities that we provide across the sporting spectrum are affordable and accessible to meet the needs of users and potential users. The report "The Ticking Time Bomb", which was published last year, showed how much investment is necessary to refurbish our swimming pools over the next 20 years—it amounts to about £500 million. That gives members an idea of the scale of the task that we face. Sportscotland is carrying out an audit of other sports facilities in Scotland so that by spring 2003 we will have an up-to-date assessment of the condition and investment requirements of our stock.
Sustainability is an issue. We must invest wisely to ensure that we get the best value for money that we can. We want to build a framework of facility provision that is sustainable, not just in the medium term but in the longer term, for the generations to follow. We need to maximise the use of those facilities and ensure that school-based facilities become community facilities.
I have outlined several areas where we have been working to meet the challenges and realise the visions of sport 21. It is an evolving process. Nothing stands still and we are well aware that we must press on. That is why we are undertaking the general review of sport 21. It is essential that the national strategy is constantly moving so that it remains relevant to the needs of sport in today's society.
The steps that we take today could have a major impact on the well-being and general health of the next generation of Scots. That should be our aim. Sport is not an optional extra, but an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. The first step is to get that message across to our fellow citizens. That is a task in which all of us, both inside and outside the Parliament, have a clear role to play.
I move,
That the Parliament recognises the value of sport to the quality of life in Scotland and the importance of the role it plays in developing the health and well-being of the nation; welcomes the commitment of the Executive and sportscotland to work with governing bodies, local authorities and all other partners to widen participation in sport at all levels, and encourages all those with an interest in sport to contribute to the current review of sport 21, the strategy for sport in Scotland.
I welcome the debate and the opportunity to highlight the wider benefits of sport for the country.
We have heard from the minister about most if not all of the initiatives that are helping to develop the health and well-being of the nation. In general terms, the SNP supports all that activity. However, the Executive has failed to highlight some facts and statistics. One such fact is that, between 1997 and 2000-01, local authority expenditure on leisure and recreation decreased in real terms year on year; another is that we have two full-time professional athletic coaches and England has 60.
Will Irene McGugan give way?
No. I am still in my first minute.
The Executive has also failed to highlight the fact that The Herald reported recently that four private schools had been awarded more lottery grants for sports facilities than all Scotland's state schools combined; that Scotland spends approximately £1.91 per head of population on sport compared to £42 per head in Denmark; and that sportscotland conceded in its annual report that grant-in-aid funding from the Executive
"cannot contribute significantly to funding the basic structures and development of sport in Scotland."
That information helps to give a more complete understanding of the situation and explains why the SNP amendment attempts to add to the motion references to "real resources" being needed to ensure "real improvements". I assume that the minister does not accept that amendment.
Does Irene McGugan agree that, to consider the figures completely, one must also consider the contribution of private income—the investment by individuals in spending on sport and leisure? Does she acknowledge that, in the period that she quotes in regard to Government and local authority expenditure, the contribution of private income has grown considerably? Does she agree that we are witnessing a flowering in involvement because private investment adds while there is perhaps a decrease in public investment?
I do not see why we cannot have both and keep the local authority expenditure up.
In evidence yesterday to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee's inquiry into the purposes of education, the Scottish Parent Teacher Council was clear that any research that it conducts shows that parents want more time to be given to the expressive arts. PE falls clearly into that bracket. Last year's report by the Scottish school of sport studies noted:
"Schools are by far the best place to introduce children to sport and the benefits of health related exercise, but they must be provided with adequate means to do it … The reality of the inadequacy of school facilities is appalling."
Those are the words of the Scottish school of sport studies; they are not mine.
A 2001 report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education found that only 33 per cent of schools had good programmes for physical education. Research from the University of Strathclyde shows that the average amount of time that is set aside for physical education in secondary schools is now less than it was 10 years ago, with 43 per cent of schools providing no PE for secondary 5 and secondary 6. Even worse, facilities are being sold off for commercial gain, sacrificing the health of students. One in seven secondary schools no longer has any access to grass playing fields, which leads to concerns about whether current procedures for protecting open space and recreational areas are adequate.
I know that ministers must be advised of developments from which the planning authority stands to gain financially, which do not accord with the local plan or to which there are lots of objections. However, in a recent reply to a parliamentary question on the matter, Hugh Henry told me that, of the seven such cases that had been notified to Scottish ministers since December 1997, only one was refused. Perhaps that is a real issue.
The recognition that sport or physical activity can be linked to health has come about only comparatively recently—in the last five years or so. Perhaps it is more helpful for us to refer to physical activity, which has a much wider application, than to sport. The information in the physical activity task force's report cannot fail to act as a wake-up call. However, when John Beattie and his team came to present the findings to MSPs, only three of us turned up. Today, there are not many members in the chamber, there is a reasonable attendance in the public gallery and a miserable attendance in the press gallery. Perhaps that serves to underline the difficult task of getting everybody to take the issue seriously.
Physical inactivity in Scotland is a serious issue. The evidence is alarming. Two out of three Scottish adults are inactive and that level of inactivity is the most common risk factor for coronary heart disease, which affects 500,000 Scots a year and led to more than 12,000 deaths in 2000. Many people have many excuses for not participating in sport—everything from feeling too fat, too old or both, for some of us, to a lack of suitable local facilities or a lack of money.
It may surprise the chamber to learn that I was once a champion swimmer, but that I did not like gym at school, which we had a lot of. I did not like gym because I ended up hot and sweaty and was expected to go back to a maths class. There was no question of having a shower. In a way, that is how girls feel. Will gym ever be followed by showers?
The member makes a good point.
Much more needs to be done to make it easier for people to participate in whatever physical activity they want to do. For some, that means fairly simple stuff such as encouragement and the creation of confidence to participate. For others, that means overcoming more serious issues of intolerance and intimidation. Those remain issues for some disabled people and people from ethnic minority groups.
A greater choice of sport and activities would help and would encourage participation from people who are not very keen on competitive sports. We must acknowledge that there has been a move away from team sports and activities to more individual activities that people want to do on their own, such as cycling. The option of participating at different skill levels must be available, so that nobody feels excluded or disillusioned. It is also important to note the lack of indoor facilities for all-year-round training, given Scotland's climate.
I welcome the fact that the physical activity task force's work will be a 20-year initiative. Too many short-term three-year-funded initiatives have been taken, and I am pleased that a commitment has been made for 20 years. However, most important, sufficient commitment has not been given to co-ordination between health, education and social justice to make progress in addressing poor fitness levels and our appalling health record.
Effective joint working and effective funding are needed to raise the profile of sport throughout Scotland and to encourage as many people as possible to be active. Only then will we improve the general health and fitness of the nation and produce more talented athletes who are capable of achieving internationally. The challenge for the Executive and for all of us is to improve vastly the provision of sport in schools and in the community, to create a seamless sporting structure that will allow continuous participation from childhood to adulthood.
Scotland has a proud sporting history and tradition. For our size, we have achieved much but, in recent years, our sporting success has dwindled in tandem with the nation's health. That will continue unless the right foundations of structure, policies and finance are put in place. That must be done soon.
I move amendment S1M-3192.1, to insert after "nation;":
"recognises also that real resources are needed in order to ensure real improvements in the general health and fitness of the nation and that only co-ordination across health, education and social justice will provide all Scots, especially those from socially excluded groups, with improved provision, equality of access, affordability of sporting facilities and full access to these health and social benefits;"
I am pleased to speak in the debate and to lead on the Conservative party's view. We are content to support the Executive's motion. As the minister knows from his time not only in this Parliament but in the other Parliament of which he has been a member, a bipartisan approach has generally been taken to sport policy. We congratulate the physical activity task force on its work and are happy to support its recommendations and the work of sport 21.
A debate such as today's is an opportunity not only to give support and motivate others to take up a cause, but to make positive and creative observations that might widen people's involvement in sport. I hope that that is the case, not only for the better health of the nation, as the motion sets out, but for better results from individual and team performances.
It will not have missed members' notice that we do not now have a team in the world cup—that is why we should have a policy that we can all get behind. Individuals will benefit from the programme, but it would have been good for the nation to have seen our footballers succeed and not be gubbed before they got there.
In trying to be constructive, I will take the opportunity to raise a number of points. I hope that the national physical activity co-ordinator and the planning team will examine issues including the involvement of parents in the provision of sport in schools. It is clear that there are difficulties in finding sufficient physical education teachers and time in the curriculum for PE—
Will the member give way?
I will in a moment, but first I will develop my argument.
It is important for us to recognise that parents offer a wealth of talent. Parents are often qualified in coaching and training certain sports; often they are more qualified than the teachers. I thank teachers for their work and effort, but they take extra-curricular work because they enjoy it—teachers like to see the benefits that PE brings to their pupils and they enjoy being involved in sport. However, the wealth of talent that parents could bring to schools is often not being tapped.
There is no difficulty in recruiting PE teachers. The University of Edinburgh, which offers the only graduate PE course, regularly takes a complement of 100 students and the course is heavily oversubscribed. Between 95 and 100 per cent of the students stick with the course, which is a much higher percentage than for any other discipline. As I said, there is no difficulty in recruiting PE teachers, but the Government is reluctant to pay them.
Forgive me if I seemed to misrepresent the position. I meant recruitment in the sense of parents being brought forward to become involved in schools. I am sure that that is an area on which we agree.
I know of a number of parents who hold Scottish Football Association certificates, who could have coached children, but the schools do not call on them to do so. Those parents could be lending a hand in providing additional help to sports in schools.
It is also worth raising the issue of indoor facilities. It is clear to anyone who is involved in team sports that our climate, with its dark winters, limits what can be done to engage children in team sports outdoors. When the nights are drawing in, it is difficult to coach young children in team sports in muddy playing fields, other than by drilling them. Therefore, teams go to church halls and school halls, but those halls have been designed for nothing bigger than a badminton court. In such surroundings, it is difficult for coaches to instil a degree of proficiency or enjoyment. It is often the case that one half of the class has to sit out the training while the other half is taking part. It is important that we ask the planning team to examine issues such as the provision of indoor facilities.
In that respect, I highlight the example of Norway. The comparison between the performance of its national football team and ours is quite noticeable. The provision of large indoor facilities has allowed Norway to provide a better level of skilled coaching than is available in Scotland. I am not saying that that argument is cut and dried, but it merits examination.
Brian Monteith has not yet addressed the substance of his amendment, which proposes that
"all Scottish schools have a full-time equivalent physical education teacher."
Many primary schools in my constituency have only two or three teachers. I assume that Mr Monteith's amendment relates to the academies. If so, will he make that clear?
I am glad that the member is gasping for me to reach that point, but he will forgive me if I build up my argument before I do so.
We must challenge current conventions. For example, I hope that the planning team will challenge the assumption that certain sports should be held only at certain times of the year. It is absurd to involve children, either at school or in clubs, in sports for which the weather is not suitable. People might well prefer to play football in winter, but the convention that young people should learn about sport in muddy fields is counterproductive. It is no wonder that they want to stay in and play with their computers or be couch potatoes. We must challenge the convention that national sports organisations should set the time when their seasons take place.
Does the member accept that some children—although not many—loathe sport of any sort? Indeed, I was one of those children: I was the last to be picked for the football team and so on. In a way, such a problem will never be addressed by the term "sport". Perhaps there should be some creative thinking about other forms of physical exercise. I am sure that the member can think of several himself.
I happily concur with Mr Stone's point. I was about to say that physical education should not be limited just to sport. In fact, in previous speeches, I have outlined the particular importance of dance in schools. We must ensure that dance, particularly traditional dance, is encouraged in Scottish schools and that it plays a greater role in physical education. I hope that that answers the member's concerns.
Does the member also recognise the importance of girls' football in schools? It is one of the fastest growing sports and addresses the particular challenge of making girls and young women active.
I happily recognise the contribution made by women's football and note how often girls and women outperform boys and men in national and international competitive tournaments. In fact, the sport is such a success that my son complains about finding it harder to get on to the pitch at Livingston Football Club because the ladies' football team uses the facilities so much. As such problems are caused by success, perhaps we should welcome them.
I must move on to the kernel of my amendment. Although we support the Executive and the creation of the task force and the planning team, we believe that more has to be done. By lodging our amendment, we simply want more meat to be put on the bones. We should be setting ourselves the goal of having a full-time equivalent PE teacher in every primary and secondary school. As Mr Rumbles might not be clear about what I mean, I should make it clear that schools that have only one or two teachers and a small number of pupils will not have a full-time PE teacher. However, we are looking for full-time equivalents to ensure that such schools have access to PE teachers who can share their work load with other schools and thereby give the same amount of time to those schools as they would give to a school with 30 pupils in each class. A school with 420 pupils can easily employ a full-time PE teacher, whereas a school with 42 cannot.
I still do not understand what the member is getting at. He is not saying the same as his amendment, which seeks to ensure
"that all Scottish schools have a full-time equivalent physical education teacher."
That is what we are supposed to be voting on today.
I am sorry if the member does not understand what I mean by "full-time equivalent". I think that our suggestion is quite practical. However, even if he does not accept the wording of my amendment, he should not let that stop him supporting it. I have made what we want quite clear: we want to ensure not only that we have fine words, people sitting on committees and initiatives and strategies, but that we get results.
We must have far more PE teachers in our schools than we have now to teach team sports, individual sports such as athletics, dance and all other kinds of physical activity. By doing so, we will ensure that people not only enjoy a certain level of sport and activity but take it further and improve themselves, their school and community. That aim is worthy of support, which is why we have lodged the amendment.
I move amendment S1M-3192.2, to insert at end:
"and believes that the Executive should aim to ensure that all Scottish schools have a full-time equivalent physical education teacher."
I, too, welcome the debate. Last week in the Education, Culture and Sport Committee, as in previous weeks, we discussed Tommy Sheridan's School Meals (Scotland) Bill, which has raised the profile of nutritional standards in schools. On Monday, I was at a meeting of the PE teachers network to discuss the report of the physical activity task force, which stressed the importance of physical activity for the health of the nation. It was a super discussion.
Incidentally, Winnie Ewing told us that she was a champion swimmer. The leader of the PE teachers network revealed that he taught Nicol Stephen when he was in primary 4, and that he too was a swimming medallist in Scottish championships—we learn something every day.
There was much discussion of the nature of PE provision and sport in schools. The teachers talked about how to make things better. They talked about class sizes, teacher training and time—issues that relate to their professional preparation for the job. They talked about PE having lost its whole-school application, perhaps because of certificate examinations, which seem to some administrators to take the place of core PE for all. Displacement was an important issue that was talked about.
Winnie Ewing talked about the discomfort of not having a shower. The PE teachers talked about how the atmosphere could be changed if there were individual showers instead of communal showers. Some youngsters do not like that side of physical activity, as Jamie Stone said.
It was not the showers.
I understand.
There was great willingness to accept that what is being done now may not be the best way to make activities enjoyable and so increase take-up.
Sandwiched between the committee meetings and the meeting with PE teachers, I attended a diabetic clinic, at which I was given lectures on my diet and on the need for me to take more regular physical activity. I can just see myself dancing away.
The mind boggles.
I am sure that it does.
It is important that people engage in regular physical activity. Today, we are discussing a lifelong lesson to establish a healthy lifestyle. It is not just about youngsters. There is nothing more important than improving the quality of life of our nation, as the motion states. We can see that participation in sport raises the quality of life of individuals in terms of fitness, self-esteem and social engagement. It represents the embodiment of values and, as the task force report makes clear, it has continuing benefits for future health.
Similarly, the availability of sporting opportunities and participation in them raise the quality of life in neighbourhoods and communities, as Mike Watson said. We all recognise that youngsters who take part in sport and games are engaged in an activity that is potentially satisfying and fulfilling, and which diverts them from aimless, sometimes destructive, and otherwise socially unacceptable activity. The Executive programme, which includes sport 21 and the other things that Mike Watson mentioned, makes that a high priority. We welcome that.
Sport can also help to nurture a sense of place, a shared identity and civic pride in communities and neighbourhoods. Peebles Rugby Club has been successful this year in gaining promotion to division 1. That made the place feel better. I hope next week to be able to help Gala Fairydean Football Club to be accepted into the Scottish Football League, which will give an extra boost to a place with an already great sense of community. That is important for communities.
Of course, this week of all weeks, we see the effect that sport can have on the morale and emotional life of a nation—it is not always good, but it is always important. That side of things is ephemeral, and can be wildly overdone, but it is a powerful influence in drawing people together. If sport and physical activity are so important, we have to take them seriously, for the good of the whole population.
As we have heard, the Executive has taken considerable steps to raise the profile and to recognise the importance of sport. I welcome that strategy, as I welcome the investment from the new opportunities fund, the report of the task force, the appointment of the tsar and the important work with social inclusion partnerships. However, a lot still needs to be done. We must somehow change the psyche of our nation so that a sporting and active lifestyle becomes the norm and what is expected of people. We must change the situation that is outlined in the task force's report. According to the statistics, boys aged between eight and 11 are active, after which the level of activity slowly falls away. At the same age, girls are at their most active—which is a bit less active than boys—but after that, the level of activity plummets and never recovers.
To create a change in how we think about our lifestyles, we must expand the policies that have been outlined. We must widen opportunities for participation by improving school and community facilities; foster relations between schools and community sports clubs; support voluntary organisations more adequately than at present; and treasure the people who run such clubs, which must be encouraged, enabled and supported, financially and politically. Generous, reliable and sustainable funding is crucial. We must share out the extra money for investment in health that has come from the UK budget so that health promotion and improvement measures are included. Sport and physical activity must get their share.
In the current education debate, we must examine the place of physical activity, physical education and sport. The debate is examining the priorities of a system that is supposed to serve the whole child. Perhaps the system once did that, but over many years we have allowed that to lapse. We must not forget that the education system is not only about academic success.
Participation in sport must be a high priority. That will not come cheaply, but we should not forget the high value of the prize, which is the improved quality of life of our nation.
I welcome the debate. The Scottish Parliament is beginning to make a difference. We are making a start at putting sport and physical activity at the heart of policy development, but we have a long way to go. Members will agree that there is a high level of recognition of the role of sport and physical activity in making Scotland a better place. That can be done through the recognition of talent and the achievement of excellence and through ensuring that everyone, no matter their ability or where they live, is as fit and as healthy as they can be.
I commend sport 21, which is the national strategy for sport, and the contribution that it has made to Scottish policy development. I welcome the creation of the Scottish Institute of Sport and recognise the importance of the major event strategy. I like to think that I made a small contribution to the development of that strategy.
I want to concentrate on the importance of physical activity to a range of policy objectives throughout the Executive. I welcome the publication of the physical activity task force's consultation paper, although it makes stark reading. If people read nothing else, they should read the foreword by the chairman, John Beattie, which should be compulsory reading for everyone in Scotland. Forty-two people die of heart disease each week in Scotland because they are inactive, which means that more than 2,000 people die unnecessarily each year. That is 2,000 people too many.
I want to address some of the issues of children's and young people's fitness. No one would disagree that young people should be physically active. I take issue with the Tories' amendment. It is too simplistic to say that we simply need more PE teachers in schools. I will explain the matter to Brian Monteith in words of no more than two syllables.
A full-time equivalent—oh, that is more than two syllables, is it not?—is the same as one teacher. I know that that may be hard for Brian Monteith to grasp. One full-time equivalent would incur the same staffing cost as one teacher. Brian Monteith is talking about putting one PE teacher into every little primary school in Scotland, but that would be woefully impracticable. The secret is to ensure that schools develop a whole-school approach to physical fitness.
I hate to take issue with Rhona Brankin on this, as she put much good work into what preceded the physical activity task force's report. However, she is wrong to imply that we can do without specialist PE teachers, especially in primary schools. Perhaps I can also help to get Brian Monteith off the hook on which he has impaled himself. I think that he is referring to the peripatetic primary school PE specialists who visit perhaps three to five schools in the course of a week.
I do not disagree that there is a role for PE teachers in primary schools. What I am saying is that we need far more physical activity than one or two sessions a week with a PE teacher. Children in primary schools as well as in secondary schools need much more regular physical activity than that. When I was a primary school teacher, I took my class out running every day. Youngsters must have physical activity almost every day. Saying that PE teachers can deliver that is simply not addressing the question. Whole-school approaches must be developed.
I recognise and welcome the work of the active primary school initiative. We must re-examine the way in which we measure schools' commitment to physical activity and we must be able to measure schools' success in improving the physical activity of our youngsters. That must be an integral part of the whole-school evaluation by local authorities and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education.
The perceived lack of physical activity among young people tends to receive a high profile, but I will talk a little about the need to target resources. The diagram on page 20 of the physical activity task force's report, which demonstrates how much physical activity is taking place among men and women, shows huge disparities between levels of physical activity among boys and girls. That disparity continues up to the age of about 35. As men and women get older, their level of physical activity decreases, and there are huge disparities between the levels of activity among girls and young women. I call for resources to be targeted specifically at those groups. It is also recognised that many people who have disabilities are excluded from sport.
I would also like to talk about—
No, you must wind up, please.
Yes, I will wind up. Before I wind up, I will mention the need to target the disparity between men and women in social class groups. The number of women in jobs that require basic occupational skills who are physically inactive is massively larger than the equivalent number of men. Any strategy needs to be highly targeted.
I will finish by asking—
No, you must finish. I asked you to finish after five minutes and you have gone a full minute over. Wind up now, please.
How many people here take regular physical activity five days a week? Not many of us. That shows the scale of the challenge that we face.
It is not much of a motion that we are debating. It does not exactly get the blood leaping and the endorphins coursing through the system. Its somewhat unctuous tone betrays absolutely no indication that the Government understands the central priority—the core nature—of the debate that we are having. I am sorry that so few MSPs are in attendance. Members obviously thought that the debate was just about drillies, gym shoes, showers and things like that. However, it is about much more.
We know that we are an aging society and that the cost of having unfit elderly people in the health service has a huge impact on our spending policies and on our economy. We also know that the population is decreasing and that people have to work longer. Unless they are fit, they cannot work longer and—once again—that has economic consequences. Those issues should be at the centre of any Government strategic plan for the development of the Scottish nation and of our economy, rather than merely for the health of Scotland, although health is integral to the debate.
I was rather scathing about the motion, because it does not mention motherhood and apple pie, but it does get a couple of things right, including bringing the physical activity task force into the debate. As far as I am concerned, we must place physical activity at the centre of our strategic thinking. Hard questions must be addressed because we seek an outcome, which we thought might be delivered through the health service budget, but which we are asking the education budget to deliver—a fitter, healthier community. The question is whether that has resource implications.
We have had argy-bargy about whether PE teachers are needed in primary schools and whether there are a sufficient number of PE teachers in secondary schools. As far as I am concerned, we do not have sufficient numbers. For example, there are only 10 PE specialists in primary schools in the city of Glasgow. This is the most unfit nation with the most unfit industrial capital—or former industrial capital—in Europe. The children in Glasgow schools are not staring at a healthy, fit future; it will be an expensive future for the small number of people who will have to work to pay for the benefits that they will need when they are older.
It makes sense to have primary teachers teaching their core subjects and a specialist core teacher available to primary school children. I know that Rhona Brankin disagrees with me. I also know that there was a fashionable belief in education staff rooms and think tanks and so on that Scottish teachers were excellent generalists. They are, but they are now burdened with a huge amount of administrative work. When Rhona Brankin, who is a lot younger than I am—I say that to gain her support—was teaching, there was not the same administrative burden.
Will the member give way?
I will continue with this point, then I will give way. Primary teachers who, like Rhona Brankin, took their pupils out running every day were thin on the ground. Even if primary teachers wanted to do that now, they could not, because of the amount of administration and the type of teaching structures that we have imposed on them. Therefore, specialists are needed more than ever.
If Margo MacDonald assumes that the only person who can deliver PE and physical activity is a PE specialist, will she tell me how many hours a week a PE specialist would deliver PE in primary schools and how much that would cost? Is that the best way to deliver PE?
The task of the PE specialist in primary school should be broadened. There should be three tasks for the PE specialist in primary school: first, to teach the children; secondly, to teach the teachers; and thirdly, to teach the parents, so that they can take the lesson into the wider community through sports coaching and so on, to which Brian Monteith referred. That should be the new role for the PE specialist in primary schools. They need to be recruited now. The University of Edinburgh can find them and they stay the course, so the raw material is there with which to achieve the strategic objective.
Several other things must be done. The Government must take responsibility for ensuring that if physical activity is to be seen as a core essential of the wider education of the person, that activity must be resourced. Report after report has been full of warm words. All PE teachers and all people interested in sport and physical activity will say that each report is usually followed—as we have already heard—by local authorities spending less money on their sport, leisure and recreation policies. Fewer people are becoming PE specialists. There has been the demise of local authority PE advisers.
Warm words will not cut the mustard. We need to restate the objective, if for nothing else than to challenge the academic snobbery that has always made it impossible for PE to be taken seriously as a subject in schools and universities.
Will the member give way?
No. She is on her last minute.
I appreciate that you have allowed me to go on, Presiding Officer. I gave way earlier.
We will vote on the motion later. I make a plea that we should not cast aside the motion, the well-meaning amendments and all the rest of it. We should get serious, listen to the activity task force, see that it identifies the urgent need for PE specialists in schools and recruit them now.
I welcome the debate, the minister's message that sport is an essential part of a healthier lifestyle, and Margo MacDonald's constructive contribution.
The Scottish Executive's sports strategy has a vision for Scotland of achieving and sustaining world-class performances in sport. In that connection, we are entitled to convey our admiration and our warmest congratulations to Mr Lennox Lewis on his outstanding victory against one of the roughest and toughest boxers in the world, Mr Mike Tyson.
When the Parliament met in Glasgow in 2000, we debated whether Mr Mike Tyson should be allowed entry to Britain in order to fight in Scotland. If I remember correctly, that fight eventually lasted only a few seconds. During that debate, the argument was advanced that, if Mr Mike Tyson had had a British passport, he would not have been allowed into the United States after committing the crime of rape. We were asked whether it was appropriate for him to receive entry into Britain when others who had committed rape would not. It would be fair to say that the Home Secretary took the view that Mr Mike Tyson had paid his debt to society by completion of the sentence for that crime.
During the course of the debate, I expressed my view that Mr Mike Tyson was not as great a boxer as our Mr Lennox Lewis, who had been totally underestimated and was a good ambassador for boxing. Mr Lennox Lewis is a man who exercises self-control—
On a point of order. I was under the impression that this debate was about increasing participation in sport.
I was thinking of asking Lord James to steer in that direction.
I was about to point out that the sports strategy document, "Sport 21: Nothing Left to Chance", contains three visions, one of which is to do with achieving and sustaining world-class performances in sport. The sportsman about who I am talking has achieved that. I am stressing the fact that he is a role model. Just as sportsmen should be condemned when they are not role models, they should be congratulated when they are. I believe that he is a fine ambassador for this country and should be given a cordial welcome by the Parliament should he come to Scotland.
He has set an example because he has been generous in his support for young people. He has spent literally—
Lord James, I think that you are straying from the motion.
I want to finish this point. Mr Lennox Lewis has spent literally millions of pounds on the funding of the Lennox Lewis college in Hackney, which is for disadvantaged young persons. In recognition of that, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of London and the freedom of the London borough of Hackney.
My conviction is that amateur boxing should not be discouraged in Scotland. Young people should be free to take part in any sport of their choice, provided that they know the risks that exist. Amateur boxing's medical safeguards are among the strictest in the world and are kept under constant consideration.
Can the Scottish Parliament get any better? We have had African dictators and now we are going to get heavyweight boxers.
Are the member's proposals to be gender specific? Are girls to be encouraged to take up boxing?
I cannot express any great enthusiasm for women taking part in boxing. However, I do not think that there should be a discriminatory bar to their doing so if to do so is their determination, although—for a variety of reasons—I would not encourage that.
Jack Dempsey, a previous world heavyweight champion boxer, is believed to have said that boxing had given him the opportunity not only to leave poverty behind him, but to form some wonderful friendships that stood him in good stead for life. Some great boxers have openly admitted that, if it had not been for boxing, they would have been in trouble with the law and that boxing gave their lives purpose and fulfilment.
Will the member give way?
I will give way to the minister on the condition that he will say that he will not discourage amateur boxing in Scotland.
I was wary of Lord James Douglas-Hamilton's pointing finger as I know that he holds a boxing blue from Cambridge University.
Oxford University.
I have committed the ultimate sin, although I knew that it was not Heriot-Watt University, which I attended.
I am aware of boxing and its importance to Lord James. Amateur boxing is certainly to be encouraged—I have no difficulty with that. Amateur boxing is safe, and gives young people many core skills. I have much less time for professional boxing, although it has its own legitimacy.
Would Lord James talk a bit more about other sports? Although boxing is important, I would like to hear what he and his colleagues in the Conservative party have to say about the general participation of young people in sport.
You have one minute left, Lord James.
I think that young people should be given maximum encouragement.
In the very few seconds that are available to me, I will say that I believe that Lennox Lewis has acted as a role model for young people and that he is unique in that respect, in that he is the only British world heavyweight champion boxer of the 20th and 21st centuries. For that reason, I think that we should warmly welcome his contribution and wish him every good fortune for the future, as we should do for all our young people, whom the minister has encouraged today.
Widespread sporting activity is clearly important to the health and fitness of the population. It can improve quality of life and can reduce the social costs of poor health. It has many other benefits beyond that. Team sports involve social interaction and a co-operative effort; people work together and learn lessons that can be transferred into other spheres of activity.
Sport is also an area where people can contribute to social well-being through volunteering, training youngsters and organising and helping to stage events. Sport has diverse economic benefits, ranging from a healthier work force to sport's enormous commercial potential.
The debate is not about creating spectators; it is about participation and how we encourage people to make the purchase of sports goods more than just a fashion statement. An analysis of data on sports participation gives cause for real concern. Overall participation rates are lower than is desirable if we are to have a healthy population.
Organisations such as Engender argue that women are particularly disengaged from sports activity. That starts in childhood. Among children and young people, a quarter of boys and a third of girls do not achieve the minimum recommended level of physical activity. Gender differences are negligible among pre-school children, but grow throughout school years. As Rhona Brankin said, differences also exist between the genders as people get older. Two thirds of 15-year-old girls do not get enough exercise—nearly twice the proportion that applies to boys. We must develop imaginative ways to encourage boys—and girls even more so—to get involved in sport at school and to stay involved in it as adults.
It is ironic that although girls will not get involved in sport at school, as soon as they leave school and start working they join aerobics classes and get involved in keep fit and so on. We need to find ways in which to ensure that girls can participate in sport and feel comfortable with it. On a point that was made by Winnie Ewing, it is all right to pooh-pooh the need for a shower, but young girls of a particular age need to feel comfortable and they need to feel that they are listened to, which would ensure that they can participate in sport at the level that they choose.
Other sections of the population also have low participation rates. Young people who have disabilities and those from ethnic minorities find it difficult to participate in sport. The recent film, "Bend It Like Beckham", illustrates the obstacles to participating in sport that are faced by youngsters from ethnic minorities.
Sport 21 was established to tackle the deep-seated inertia of our population. Several projects have been aimed at addressing that, with encouraging results. Sportscotland, for example, has run the active primary schools programme to address the issue, which is a major one for social inclusion partnerships.
We must recognise the important work that is done by local authorities, which run sports centres, encourage people to participate in sports and try out new areas of sport. I think that they are key players in the delivery of sport. We can also learn a lot from elsewhere; there are good examples of progress in Wales.
We have the report of the physical activity task force, which advocates a range of measures and covers the review of the physical education curriculum in schools. We need to evaluate imaginatively how children engage in physical activity in schools, be it dance, PE or whatever—although I am not so sure about boxing. We need to encourage children to participate in physical activity.
We need to examine the reasons for the differences between the genders' involvement in sports—we need to address the reasons why girls do not want to participate in sport. We need to make sport relevant to parents and we need to influence them as gender role models for their children.
I agree with Margo MacDonald that it is important that parents understand the rules and that they are able to be involved in sport. Many football clubs and other sports clubs are run by parents, who are keen for their children to participate in sport. We need to plant a seed for the future. Children who are involved in sport are more likely to enjoy and take part in sport as adults.
I am pleased that the minister is aware of the problems that exist. He noted that there are differences in gender requirements, that there is a need for facilities such as child care, and that sports co-ordinators have brought benefits to children. I look forward to implementation of the recommendations of the physical activity task force and to a fitter and healthier Scottish people.
I congratulate Murray Tosh on having climbed almost all Scotland's Munros, which is no mean feat.
The minister might agree that, given the contribution that physical activity can make to improving an individual's health and well-being, today's debate could be led by the Minister for Health and Community Care. Often we ignore the long-term problems that can arise in a society because of lack of physical activity among younger and older people. It is important that we take every opportunity to educate all members of our society about the potential health benefits of physical exercise.
Some 20 per cent of younger people in Scotland are overweight. That illustrates the potential problems that we are storing up for the future in cardiovascular disorders, diabetes and high blood pressure. If we do not adopt a longer-term strategy to tackle those problems, they will return to haunt us.
Margo MacDonald noted that a lack of physical exercise has a health cost for individuals and a financial cost for society. It is important that, where possible, we encourage young people to participate in regular physical activity. In doing so, we must tackle the barriers that prevent individuals from participating in such activities. The physical activity task force report cites 13 reasons that people commonly give for not participating in physical activity. Those reasons range from lack of money, being too old and having no one to go with to being put off by the weather. The last reason—point 12—I found rather disappointing. If we in Scotland depend on good weather to encourage people to become involved in physical activity, very few people will participate.
We must ensure that people are aware of the benefits that can be gained from physical activity. In her speech, Cathy Peattie talked about the need to ensure that physical activity provision is as inclusive as possible. We must ensure that all members of our society are able to participate in physical activity equally and fairly. Provision for disabled people at sports centres is often limited to a ramp leading to the door. It is necessary to ensure that staff are educated and that they able to work with disabled people, so that disabled people can participate in the activities that interest them. Fergus Ewing referred to the Badaguish centre, which specialises in providing outdoor activities to young disabled people. We must also ensure that staff are aware of the religious and cultural sensitivities—for example, relating to dress—of people from ethnic minority groups.
It is disappointing that the report does not appear to tackle the issue of outdoor education. One of the many sad legacies of the Thatcher Government was the systematic closure of local authority outdoor centres, which were set up in the 1950s and 1960s to ensure that all young people had an opportunity to participate in outdoor activities. Because there is now a shortage of such facilities, it is very difficult for people from deprived communities to participate in activities in which they might be skilled. I hope that, in trying to increase the level of physical activity by young people and others, the minister will ensure that our education system provides young people with an opportunity to participate in outdoor activities.
If, for example, someone is studying standard grade or higher geography, there is nothing better for them than going on a day's walk somewhere such as Glencoe to study glacial features, which will give them practical experience of the academic subject that they study in the classroom. I hope that we can consider the issue holistically. Excellent centres such as Glenmore lodge, which I visited recently with the cross-party sports group, were set up specifically to give young deprived people the opportunity, which every young person should have, to walk in the mountains of Scotland. I discovered that it has become very difficult for young people from deprived communities to participate, because local authorities are not providing that service. I hope that at the end of the process, we will ensure that young people are given the unique opportunity to appreciate the natural beauty of Scotland.
I want to expand on what Dr Ewing said about rurality, access and remoteness. I draw members' attention to the far north, which is my part of the world. Mention was made of covered indoor facilities; counties such as Inverness-shire and Ross and Cromarty are fairly well served with regard to leisure centres. However the story is very different in Caithness and Sutherland. The history of that is difficult and is not really worth going into, but it is associated with council spend. Let us leave it at that. The net result is that towns in Ross-shire, such as Dingwall, Fortrose and Invergordon, which have populations of 4,000 to 6,000, have leisure centres, but towns in Caithness, such as Wick and Thurso, which have populations of 9,000 to 10,000, have no sports facilities.
The sport 21 document, "Sport 21: Nothing Left to Chance", states:
"Sport 21 has three visions for Scotland.
A country where sport is more widely available to all".
We are talking about sport throughout Scotland. I want to highlight the fact that within my constituency the lack of provision deprives people to a large extent.
There is not a lot of hope that, under the reformed system of local government, much can be done. That is to do with section 94 consents and the fact that the big leisure and recreation spends of the 1980s and early 1990s are things of the past. None of us holds out a great deal of hope that we will sort out the problem through traditional routes. However, the money exists, because
"Sportscotland receives a grant of approximately £10 million from the Executive and has well over £20 million from lottery funding."
The problem that we have in Caithness is to do with administration and the means by which we can access funding. I thank the former Deputy Minister for Environment, Sport and Culture, Allan Wilson, for his long and helpful correspondence on the issue. I also thank sportscotland, from which I have received thoughtful and considered replies to my letters. It always pointed out that the fact that the area into which I am trying to get leisure centres is not a full-blown social inclusion partnership area presents a difficulty. Sportscotland hinted in a letter of 10 May 2001—well over a year ago—that there might be flexibility in developing that.
By complete coincidence, I received a letter today from Mr Ken Melhuish of Caithness Sports Facilities Ltd. I want to read short extracts from that letter, which will outline the problem. The letter states:
"The attached letter, from the Scottish Executive, appears to put the ball into Sportscotland's court but Sportscotland in a recent E-mail from Martin Bowie (Projects Director for Regional Sports Centres) stated: "I have liased with Jim Macdonald, the Acting Lottery Director, regarding the Geographic/Thematic SIP question and advised that we will only consider projects in Geographic SIP areas as defined by the Scottish Executive".
The problem is that it appears that SIPs in Caithness and north Sutherland are thematic, such as the part of Thurso known as Ormlie. Because of the difference between a thematic and geographic social inclusion partnership, we have difficulty in getting the right rules in place to proceed with projects. The other thing that worries me is that the volunteers in Caithness, who have set up a limited company, are up against the clock, because economic development review panel funding runs out shortly.
I am led to understand that the capital lottery fund for regional sports centres will be time limited and that the amount of money that it can give will soon drop.
I do not expect the minister to respond to my points in reply to the debate, but I ask the ministers to adopt the style that Allan Wilson adopted when he took my points on board. I ask them at least to keep the channel open in future. I will be entering into correspondence on the matter and will be glad to copy that correspondence to the ministers in due course. In Caithness, young people, old people, people who are keen on sport and people who are not keen simply do not have the facilities that other parts of Scotland enjoy. In my view, that is fundamentally wrong. I thank members for listening to me.
Last Wednesday, I dropped in on a conference that was organised by sportscotland as part of the review of sport 21. I hoped to hear some new ideas on how to increase participation in sport and on how to improve our rather mediocre performance in international events. To be frank, I was disappointed.
One of the keynote speakers devoted almost his entire speech to singing the praises of the private finance initiative and public-private partnerships. Surely it is not the job of sportscotland to promote a funding mechanism that is so controversial that even the Accounts Commission for Scotland is questioning it because it does not provide best value for money.
The other keynote speaker was an adviser to the Parliament's Education, Culture and Sport Committee. Nothing in her speech convinced me that the committee is giving adequate priority to sport in its current inquiry into the purposes of education. Unfortunately, no member of the committee was present to persuade me otherwise. Indeed, I did not see another MSP at the afternoon session that I attended, although I understand that the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport opened the morning session. The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Parliament must give sport a higher profile. It is no wonder that there is lethargy and inactivity at grass-roots level if there is lethargy and inactivity at the top.
Last week, the physical activity task force revealed more evidence of physical inactivity and merely confirmed what we already knew. As Rhona Brankin said, every week in Scotland more than 40 people die of heart disease because they are too inactive. The problems start in early life with a high incidence of obesity and heart conditions, even among primary school children. The Executive is not addressing the problem with the required urgency.
It is all very well to appoint a physical activity co-ordinator, or fitness tsar, and I wish Mary Allison well. However, it seems to be the done thing these days to appoint a tsar if there is a problem. We have a tsar for crime, a tsar for drugs, a tsar for food and now a tsar for fitness. For heaven's sake—we are not living in 19th century imperial Russia. This is Scotland, which is supposed to be a modern 21st century democracy. The people of Scotland elected a Parliament and the Parliament elected ministers to do the business. Urgent ministerial action is needed, particularly from the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, the Minister for Health and Community Care and the Minister for Education and Young People.
I welcome the efforts that are being made by school sport co-ordinators and physical education specialists, but more incentives should be given in order to get other teachers involved in school sports. Many teachers opted out at the time of the dispute in the 1980s, but surely the McCrone settlement provides an opportunity for a fresh start by giving teachers the necessary incentives to devote more time to organising sports for young people.
The fact that many young people are interested in sport can be seen from their enthusiasm for big events such as the world cup, despite the fact that Scotland did not qualify for it. As Cathy Peattie said, it is absolutely essential for health reasons that we encourage our young people to become players rather than mere spectators. Instead of simply watching our neighbours, such as England and Ireland, go on to greater things, we should adopt that approach which, in the longer term, might also help to improve our performance on the international stage.
When I was of primary school age, physical fitness was not an option but a necessity. From the age of eight, I had to get on my bike every morning and cycle the three miles to school. When I got there, an interesting game would be going on in the playground: a perpetual game of three and in. We had one set of goals, which at our school was made not from jerseys but from two particularly well fashioned rubbish bins. That game would sometimes start as early as 8 o'clock in the morning and would continue through the morning break and lunch time. Some of us would even stay back in the evenings to participate a little while longer before going home. That kind of physical activity underpinned a great deal of the sport that went on at that time.
Given what was said earlier, I want to highlight the irony that, at the time, that game of three and in was a case of every man for himself. The girls were not welcome. Thirty years later, however, things had changed to some extent, as my daughter eventually captained the school football team. She was the first girl to have done so and she took the team on to some success. I therefore understand the point that was made by some of the lady members because, when my daughter left primary school and went to the secondary school, she was no longer welcome to play football at a genuinely competitive level. The girls were simply not accepted at that level. The resulting resentment that she experienced had a significant impact on her and has perhaps shaped her character to this day. However, the amount of physical activity that took place in schools in those days was largely due to necessity.
We must also remember the need for role models, to which Dennis Canavan and Lord James Douglas-Hamilton referred. Young people want to compete in sport because they wish to model themselves on someone who has had success. In Scotland, we are beginning to suffer from the law of diminishing returns, because, without models of success, young people will not have an interest in sport.
There are fewer people who are fit enough or willing enough to become involved in the process.
Although I do not disagree with what Alex Johnstone has said about the role that leading sports people and other such role models play, I think that he is really talking about football, which is what most members have done. Talking only about football militates against an appreciation of all sports. Rather than tune in to the football programmes that masquerade as sports programmes, people should listen to John Beattie's programme on a Saturday morning on BBC Radio Scotland—I hope that the cheque will be in the post.
I apologise if I have talked too much about football, but I am keen to highlight the other role models that existed only a few years ago. Alan Wells won an Olympic gold medal in the 100 metres race. We had boxing success at both amateur and professional level in Scotland. A whole generation of young people treated those figures as role models, but that motivation has dried up because of the lack of success.
Will Alex Johnstone ignore the contribution of people such as Rhona Martin and Jackie Lockhart, who are role models who have won Olympic and world championship gold medals? He must surely agree that it is good to see excellent female role models in sport.
I dare not suggest that I would ever ignore their contribution.
It is extremely important that we all understand that there is an ever-shrinking supply of talented and fit individuals in the very young age groups who will be able to compete at the highest level. We need to put in place a system that can encourage at a young age the development of ambition in our young sportsmen and women. We need a system that can sort out those individuals and pass them on to the clubs and other organisations, which, thanks to the enormous activity of volunteers, are now in a position to provide team and individual sports at the highest level for young Scots.
That work must be done in the schools, but they lack the necessary number of sufficiently talented teaching staff who can identify such individuals. We need such staff to give the young people encouragement and pass them on to those who will eventually bring them to be Scotland's future successes. As our amendment suggests, unless we ensure that there is an appropriate supply of qualified teaching staff in our schools, we will not break the vicious circle of Scotland's highest-level sporting prowess falling to a low ebb.
I start with a plea to move the Parliament to Aberdeen permanently, so that I can get some routine into my life and play squash twice a week every week throughout the year.
The debate is important because time and again in the chamber we have discussed Scotland's health record, particularly obesity in young children. The most exercise people get these days is pressing the accelerator or clutch in their cars or walking down their local high street to McDonald's to buy more burgers to accelerate heart disease.
Young people have been mentioned in the debate several times. It is important to catch people when they are young to try to encourage them to adopt a healthy lifestyle. That means getting them to play more sport and to participate in physical exercise when they are young. The shortage of PE teachers—mentioned eloquently by Margo MacDonald and other members—is crucial. Rhona Brankin says that other teachers can fulfil the PE function and, although that is true to a certain extent, those teachers have other preoccupations.
In 1998, there were 52 full-time specialist teachers in Aberdeenshire, a number of whom were PE teachers. In 2002, we have 25 full-time specialists so the situation has become a lot worse. In Aberdeenshire, there are only eight full-time equivalent PE teachers for 158 schools and 20,500 pupils. Those eight PE teachers are delivering only a quarter of the PE provision that is recommended by the Executive. That is what is happening at the coalface in our schools.
Some secondary school PE teachers in Aberdeenshire to whom I spoke told me that they are noticing a huge difference in the kids who are coming through from the primary schools. Those kids are less fit and less willing to participate in exercise and sport. We must take into account that that has a big impact on their futures.
I am astonished that Rhona Brankin keeps intervening on all speakers to say that the debate is not particularly important because there are other ways round the problem. However, as Margo MacDonald said—
Will the member take an intervention?
There she goes again. I am delighted to take an intervention.
Does the member recognise that the situation is complex and that, rather than merely employing physical education teachers, we must take a whole-school approach to sport? Does he recognise that although one school might have access to a PE specialist and another school might not, the pupils in the second school might be more active physically than those in the first?
Rhona Brankin is right to suggest that many issues are involved. However, in this litigious age, other teachers are terrified about getting involved in all the sports in their schools. They would rather have a trained specialist—in case anything goes wrong or to ensure that nothing goes wrong in the first place.
Schools often do not have facilities. Often, by the time that kids get changed and move all the tables in the dinner hall that they have to use as a gym, the half-hour PE period has been cut to 20 minutes.
When the Parliament was in Aberdeen, I had a members' business debate on drug misuse in Grampian. Drug figures from throughout the country show that it is mainly young people who turn to substance misuse. Why do they do that? They tell me that it is because their communities have no facilities. They want sports facilities. They say that education to get them off drugs is very useful but that what they really want is other facilities to let them fill their time. However, there is a shortage of sports facilities. We should be trying to get those kids to participate in sport and not to participate in substance misuse. Especially in rural areas, the lack of facilities is a huge issue.
We should have a formula. We would not allow communities to be without health facilities or police stations so, similarly, we should work out a formula to prevent communities from being without sports facilities. Areas with populations above a certain level should have access to affordable sports facilities. Not only would that address Scotland's health problems, it would allow people to be much more active.
The world cup has been mentioned. I notice that today's papers are talking about how Denmark was able to knock out the world champions. Denmark is a small country—it is the same size as Scotland. However, it has many things that we do not have—and not only its own Government. It has many sports facilities as well. The papers are saying that the reason why they have done so well in the world cup is that they have excellent sports facilities. Footballers in this country have been contrasting our sports facilities with those in Denmark. Sweden, Ireland and Denmark—all north European countries—are doing extremely well in the world cup. Not only do they have better health records than Scotland, they are doing better than us at football.
I want to pick up on Alex Johnstone's point about role models. Peter Nicol is the number 1 squash player in the world. I was speaking to his father at the "Taste of Grampian" food festival on Saturday. He told me that many other people who are coming through the same squash club, at Westhill outside Aberdeen, could be among the top players in the world. However, they get no support. Peter Nicol is from Westhill in Aberdeenshire, but he represents England in the squash world championships because, south of the border, all the support services, such as physiotherapy and hotel accommodation, are laid on for him. We need more Peter Nicols. He should be doing a fantastic job for Scotland, although recently he has been doing a fantastic job for England.
The Government has a bad habit of producing glossy brochures and meaningless motions. Just for once—to change the way in which Scotland operates, to improve our health record, to get more people involved in sport and to be more successful at sport—the Executive should introduce some radical solutions.
I want to begin with a confession: I have been supporting England in the world cup. I am glad to have got that shameful secret off my chest. When I was travelling through to Parliament on the train this morning I had my radio earpiece in and I was anxious not to let out any groans or cheers—although I suppose that many people would have assumed that I was cheering on Nigeria.
The idea that England should do badly at football is one of the odd and rather negative ideas that illuminate attitudes to sport in our country. Another example might be our attitude to the Brazilian player, Socrates, who captained the national side in the 1980s—some members may remember him. He is still famous in Scotland, not so much for his undoubted footballing abilities, but because he was notorious for smoking 40 cigarettes a day. It is typical of the Scottish nation that even our sporting heroes are those of the hard-smoking, hard-drinking, hard-living variety. The message and benefits of sport are sometimes lost in our perverse enjoyment of the negative.
I would like to think that attitudes are changing. In particular, I would like to think that the Executive's support for sport for all is helping to change attitudes. I want to give some examples from the west of Scotland and Glasgow in particular that demonstrate that. The women in sport initiative has undoubtedly been one of the most successful programmes supported by the Government. Cathy Peattie commented on the policy and the importance of targeting those who may not have the opportunity to take up sport or who face obstacles. Training sessions for marathons and 10km runs, ladies nights at the pool and gym and jogging networks have all helped women to exercise without feeling embarrassed. This year was the 10th anniversary of the Glasgow women's 10k and 9,000 women took part. Two years ago, when my wife took part in the annual 5k in aid of breast cancer charity there were 4,500 runners and last weekend there were 7,000 runners.
The message is of sport for all and activity for all. That message is being put into practice. The general practitioner referral scheme, where elderly patients and others who would benefit are prescribed exercise rather than medicine, is an excellent example. It is good physically and socially, a fact that is recognised by the support of sports centres in Glasgow, such as Scotstoun and Bellahouston, which put on a coffee and cake deal to supplement the swimming or walking.
I am extremely glad that Mr Macintosh mentioned exercise on prescription, as I did not have time to refer to it in my speech. That programme points to the necessity of considering the resourcing of sport. The national health service is expected to bear the burden of that programme and often it is the private facilities that gain from it. The resourcing of that programme should be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Indeed. The point that I was making was that it is the sports centres in Glasgow that supplement and support the deal.
The tennis programme is designed for people of ages two to 82 and aims to bring tennis to people of all social backgrounds. This summer the young people's tennis programme is being extended to Drumchapel and Castlemilk, which I hope will challenge the elitist attitudes that surround tennis.
Perhaps the most important development has been school sports co-ordinators. That is finally making good the damage done when the Government of the 1980s lost the good will of teachers who were taking extra-curricular activities.
Finally, there is a need for sport and leisure as a profession to be developed and supported. SPRITO Scotland, the national training organisation for the sport and leisure industry, is looking to become a new sector skills council and I hope that the Executive will support that development. However, there are issues to be tackled here. Workers in sport and leisure often experience extremely poor wage levels and limited career progression.
Intake to training courses can have little bearing on the needs of the industry or the likelihood of a job at the end of the course. Perhaps most important of all is the support that we can give the voluntary sector, which can be the main or first point of access to physical activity for many in our communities.
We can improve our elite performances, but the key to success is what we do for the many. Scottish teams are famous for clutching defeat from the jaws of victory, but I believe that the ethos of sport for all, supported by the Government, is challenging our sometimes negative perceptions of sport and giving us all a healthier future.
I am happy to support the motion and the SNP's amendment. Between them, they cover many of the issues.
At the moment, we are still piffling around on the subject. We need to put real money into sport and other activities, as doing so pays dividends; it makes people happier and it might even gain some votes. We need to build sports centres. If we do that, we will not need to build all the jails that we are talking about building. We need to train up sports coaches. If we do that, we will not have such a shortage of nurses because there will not be so many people for them to look after. If we give grants to local sports clubs, we will not need to put more and more money into the police. We are not talking big money: a few hundred pounds to a lot of sports clubs makes a lot of difference to the youngsters to whom they can give regular activity. It all makes good sense.
Many good speeches have covered the health aspect in particular. One aspect that has not been covered much, other than in Ian Jenkins's speech, is the role of sport in reducing youth crime and other problems. One of the main strands in creating modern sport was the 18th century English headmasters of boarding schools for boys, who greatly encouraged sport to keep their charges out of mischief. I do not know how much that succeeded, but the basic idea is correct. If we provide good activities for young people, they will not get into trouble. That is not the only reason—or even the main reason—for doing sport, but it is a significant reason.
To support Donald Gorrie, I instance the fact that, in my former constituency of Hamilton, the father of the world champion boxer Walter McGowan created his own gym in Burnbank. He encouraged the police to send troublemakers to him. He said, with his eyes glistening with delight, "Give me a vandal and I will make him an athlete."
Government should be well-enough organised to bring together money that would otherwise be wasted on jails, for example, and money that is dedicated to the health service and put it into preventing people from needing the health service or jail by giving them good activity, making them happy and ensuring that they enjoy fun.
Another aspect of sport—the social aspect—has not been mentioned much. Sport helps to create good social animals. For various reasons, many of our fellow citizens are not good social animals. One of the highlights of my youth, which was probably a sheltered upbringing, was the first time that I went to the braw lads gathering with the Edinburgh Southern Harriers. Some of the young ladies in the party introduced me to all sorts of drinks that I had not met before.
As well as having an important social aspect, sport has a team-building aspect. If youngsters with a difficult background are taken rock climbing, they know that, if they let go of the rope, the chap below them is in big trouble or if the chap above them lets go of the rope, they are in big trouble. That is serious, character-building activity. I know that all that is rather unfashionable, but it has a real effect.
We should not underestimate character-building stuff, but we must consider the hard facts of the resourcing to provide the facilities in which characters will be built. Hutchison Vale football club in Edinburgh is trying to persuade the City of Edinburgh Council to release land to allow the football club to cater for more than 200 kids in that area of the town. Local authorities do not have the required resources for such initiatives. Ministers must consider strategically what they ask local authorities to do with ever-less money.
That emphasises the point. The two athletic clubs in Edinburgh with which I have an honorary position would benefit enormously from lower charges and better grants. We have starved such local organisations of money for a long time. That shows again that the ministers, who have done good work, must persuade their colleagues to put serious money into the budget for sport. If they did that, we would save much money and have a happier Scotland. We might even win the odd match.
All parties agree that participation in sports should be widened. Several members have referred to the problems of ill health. Despite increasing affluence, ill health in the population is increasing. As several members have said, Scotland has serious problems with heart disease, cancer and stroke, which could be countered in some cases by exercise. Furthermore, the level of obesity is growing among young people. We must examine ways of countering those problems, if for no other reason than to reduce the burden on the NHS that is a result of those health problems. That is why we want to encourage participation in sports.
I have never believed that sporting excellence is a measure of a country's standing. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and before that, athletes from the Soviet Union and East Germany cleaned up Olympic medals, while people in their home countries suffered under evil socialist regimes. Meanwhile, we in the free world did not win as many medals, but at least we had our freedom. I know which I prefer.
I do not suggest that the minister recommends Soviet-style concentration on sports, but a small improvement in the quality of our football team would not go amiss. The world cup is rather sad when the Scots are not there. Alex Johnstone referred to Scotland's lack of sporting success, but we are world leaders in sports such as darts and snooker. Perhaps they are not the sort of sports that the minister is talking about.
I appreciate that the sports that the member mentioned are valuable, but does the continued discussion of sports such as snooker and darts exclude women and girls from participating in sport?
The member has more expertise in the matter than I have. I was not sure that women were excluded from darts or snooker. In my local pub, as many women as men play darts, but my experience must be different from Cathy Peattie's.
My colleague James Douglas-Hamilton—our very own pugilistic peer—referred to the importance of amateur and professional boxing.
If we accept that we all want greater participation in sports, how will that best be achieved? More sport in our schools must be the starting point. Not so long ago, the idea of competitive sport in schools was condemned as elitist by some on the left. I hope that those days are gone. Perhaps, as Peter Mandelson has said,
"we are all ‘Thatcherite' now."
School sport is vital, as it encourages activity and promotes physical well-being. It also teaches young people about competition and the need to value others, whatever their abilities. The education system must be at the heart of any strategy to promote sport. That is why Scottish Conservatives want more physical education teachers in our primary schools. We are calling for a full-time equivalent PE teacher in every primary school in Scotland. That would be the single most important measure that the Executive could take to promote participation in sport in Scotland.
I ask Rhona Brankin to give me a second; I want to make another point.
Margo MacDonald said that there is no shortage of PE teachers available to be recruited. That would have a cost. We have costed our proposal at £11 million. That is real money, but it is a drop in a bucket compared with some Executive initiatives in its strategies, consultation documents and glossy leaflets.
We have heard much about considering things. Many members have said, "We must consider this and we must consider that." We have had three years of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive—it is time to stop considering things. Let us do something positive. Let us get some PE teachers in our schools.
Murdo Fraser states that resources make a difference. Does he support the targeting of particular groups that are excluded at the moment from sport and physical activity, namely girls, women and those with physical disabilities?
Indeed. I want to see everybody being encouraged to take up sport. At the moment, there are those, including young women, who are not participating as much as they should. It is clear that they would benefit if resources were to be put into sport.
I will deal briefly with the idea of full-time equivalent PE teachers, as there seems to be some confusion on the subject.
The member has one minute.
I can tell members that The Times Educational Supplement Scotland is in no doubt about the meaning of full-time equivalent. The meaning is clear. There should be a full-time PE teacher in schools of sufficient size and, in smaller schools, a peripatetic teacher should be used for the appropriate number of hours. The number of hours will depend on the number of pupils in the school. That is not a complicated idea. I suspect that the members who take issue with it are simply looking for an excuse to cop out of showing support for the idea of full-time equivalent PE teachers in schools.
If we are to see a real improvement in the level of sports activity in our schools, we need to have PE teachers in our schools. Rather than saying that we must consider this and consider that, let us see some real action. Action has to start in schools—let us get some PE teachers. I urge members to support the Conservative amendment.
I call Irene McGugan to close for the Scottish National Party. The member has seven minutes.
Once again, we have experienced a constructive debate on sport and a fair degree of consensus has been achieved. There seems to be broad agreement on the issues and on what needs to be done about them. I hope that the minister will take every opportunity to act on the issues that have been highlighted today.
Some of the evidence indicates that on occasion the Executive views sport as something less than a priority. One example is the Education, Culture and Sport Committee's report on sport in schools. The report was published in October 2000, yet the Executive's response was not received until April 2002. The report drew conclusions and made recommendations that deserved action and response a great deal sooner than that. They were valid then and they are valid today.
The report's headline conclusion was that there is a need to improve the participation of young people in sport while they are at school. The report recognised that sport can play a major role in improving the health, motivation and achievement of young people across the social spectrum. The report called for greater emphasis on using sport as a vehicle for health and for academic improvement. Those are exactly the sort of things that we have discussed today, almost two years later.
Mention has been made of school sport co-ordinators. It is good that some input is going into schools again, even if it is a poor replacement for a system that was in place 20 years ago. That system was allowed to disappear, largely because of pressure on local authority funding. I stress that the school sport co-ordinators should involve all relevant partner organisations in the community, as that will lead to optimum effectiveness.
The school sport co-ordinator programme needs to be monitored and evaluated over time, as that will allow best practice to be established. There are concerns that, due to limited national direction and a lack of coming together of experiences, the co-ordinators' training has been inefficient and ineffective. That has led to a hotch-potch of delivery and mechanisms across the country.
I understand that the current Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport has rescinded the previous minister's decision to establish a school sport alliance. If that is the case, perhaps the deputy minister will set out the reasons for that decision in her summing up. I also note the proposed ministerial review of PE and that the make-up of the group will be announced in the next few weeks. I understand that the group will examine ways of continuing to raise the profile of PE and that it might also examine the issue of numbers in PE classes, which would be useful. I ask the minister to confirm whether the review will include school sport.
Swimming has rightly been mentioned, if fairly briefly. Although we have had debates about the value of learning that skill, we know that many community swimming pools have closed down in recent years because of high maintenance costs. Moreover, even some of the new schools that are being built at the moment, such as those in Glasgow, do not have swimming pools. As a result, swimming might soon be dropped from the curriculum. We want swimming lessons to be provided to all pupils to ensure that they can all swim a minimum of 25m by standard 1.
The SNP recognises the importance of sport in all areas of life and its contribution to society. It would be a matter of regret if the Executive decided to reject our amendment, because it is important that we make clear the intention to embrace co-ordination, joint working and joint funding, to improve access by reason of geography or funding, and in all ways to ensure that groups that are too often socially excluded have such access. We must all push for any initiative that improves the provision of sport in schools and the community to ensure that future generations include physical activity in their lives from childhood to adulthood.
I call Elaine Murray to respond to the debate. Dr Murray, we have inadvertently gained a couple of minutes. We might be able to limp to decision time if you can speak for 12 minutes.
Thank you, Presiding Officer. I will try to speak a bit slower than usual.
This is a very appropriate time to discuss sport. What with the world cup at the moment, Wimbledon coming up and the Commonwealth games at the end of next month, the subject is very much in people's minds, even though there are different degrees of Scottish interest in those competitions. At this point, I should perhaps congratulate those teams from the British isles that have progressed to the next round of the world cup. My only plea is that, if the team supported by Kenny Macintosh wins, we do not have to see the winning goal for the next 40 years. That said, it might knock replays of the other goal off the box.
The Tories made much play of excellence. It is important to celebrate that quality and indeed the competitions that I have mentioned provide role models in that respect. Success is not just about bringing together communities and nations; it is also inspirational. For example, when Wimbledon is on, we see children out with tennis racquets; when marathons are on, we see people running in the streets. The other day, I was even pleasantly surprised to discover my eldest son, who has not been physically active, playing football. As several members have pointed out, we have to capitalise on people's interest in watching sport and convert it into a desire to participate in sport and physical recreation.
Margo MacDonald did not like the way in which we had framed the motion and asked whether we were serious. Actually, we are deadly serious. Unless we use these methods to improve Scotland's health, we will continue to be the sick man of Europe and to build up a huge health bill through trying to make people well again. Some of our efforts must be directed at preventing people from getting ill in the first place and at enabling people to live to a healthy old age. If people are to live longer, they should do so in good health. That is to everyone's benefit.
I am absolutely delighted to hear the minister restate the seriousness of the objectives that are outlined in the sports strategy and the physical activity task force strategy. However, the issue comes back to resources. We have to put our money where our mouth is. Will the Executive put more money into recruiting more PE teachers, sport co-ordinators and PE advisers? Will it spend more money through the local authorities to provide facilities and coaching?
The issue of PE teachers will be addressed in the review that my colleagues in the education department are undertaking. We will argue for increased resources in sport, because that is part of our job as sports ministers. We hope to be able to make a convincing case to our colleagues when the time comes. Many other partners invest in sport. Reference has been made to local authorities. Perhaps there is work to be done with local authorities to increase the profile of sport in their community plans.
We have talked a little about sport 21, which is not being reviewed just because somebody feels like having another review. Sport 21 is a strategy that was designed to expire in 2003. Now we want to find out how we can build on it and refine it to create a policy that will take us forward in the five to 10 years beyond 2003. I strongly encourage the MSPs who have contributed forcibly to this debate to get involved in that debate. Dennis Canavan was disappointed by what he saw last week. If that is the case, he should get in there and say what he thinks should be done, because the opportunity is available. I do not want a glossy Executive document on the Executive's policy for sport. That is not the intention—it is Scotland's policy for sport. The review affords the opportunity for all the partners to get together and create Scotland's policy for sport.
In the spirit of making a positive suggestion, I inform the chamber that my colleague Michael Matheson was too modest to mention that he is a member of a mountain rescue team. Does the minister acknowledge the key role that mountain rescue teams play, not only in evacuating casualties safely from the hills, but in teaching safe practice in outdoor activities, in particular in our hills, in teaching young children in lectures and by other means, and all the other work that they do—on a volunteer basis—and which they cherish?
I am happy to do so. That is why I am taking part in the Moffat mountain rescue challenge next Sunday. I have much sympathy for and give much support to mountain rescue teams.
In discussing the review of sport 21, we also have to make links. Mention was made, for example, of the national debate on education. That affords a crucial opportunity for people to make points about the importance of physical recreation and the contribution that sport can make to pupils' learning. I encourage all partners to get involved in that consultation process, and in the consultation on the draft strategy of the physical activity task force. The review of sport 21 can be a success only if all our partners are involved. That means involving local authorities and encouraging them to find ways to include physical activity in their community plans.
Sportscotland recently commissioned a household opinion survey on people's attitude to sport. The sample was approximately 1,000 people over the age of 16. That may not be a huge sample, but even so, the results were interesting, because 90 per cent of the sample agreed that sport adds to the quality of life in Scotland for the population in general. Only 4 per cent of people disagreed. It was encouraging that so many people, who perhaps do not participate in sport, recognise the contribution that sport makes to the population's quality of life—although we aim to get those people interested in taking part in sport themselves. Two thirds of people considered that sport added to the quality of life for them personally. Of course, some of that may have referred to the contribution from observing sport, rather than participating in it.
On age profiles, the great majority of young people regarded fun and enjoyment as the benefits of participation in sport, but across all age groups there was an appreciation that there were also personal benefits in terms of health and fitness. People identified those benefits as more important than even the community benefits, such as regeneration and crime reduction. It is important that the benefits of building active communities are recognised.
Demographic and other factors were evident in the survey. I am not sure whether the sample was large enough to be representative, but it appears that rural communities value sport more than do urban communities. That is interesting, in the light of what Jamie Stone said. I will digress, and say that of the new funding for physical activity from the New Opportunities Fund, more than £53 million is for facilities. I urge local authorities to examine how they use that funding, so that they can make sport accessible to people in different communities.
Does the minister recognise that a disproportionate amount of money is spent on sport for young men, compared with that which is spent on young women? Will the minister undertake to examine the amount of money that is spent on college and university sport to begin to address that discrepancy in spending?
Before the minister responds, I appeal to members not to wander around the chamber, but to concentrate on the reply.
I intend to mention later the differences in participation rates between young men and young women.
We must consider the aging population. The survey found that, as people get older, around 40 per cent identify themselves as having a disability that limits their physical activity or the work that they can do. The demographic change must be taken into account when we examine sport as time progresses. We can either increase participation among a smaller population sector—which I do not favour—or reintroduce sport to the sectors that are typified by non-participation.
There are issues of accessibility. For example, mention has been made of physical recreation for people with disabilities or health problems. I am interested in the developments in the prescription of physical activity by GPs, to which Ken Macintosh and Margo MacDonald, in her intervention, referred. That development is welcome and its progress will be interesting. We must encourage people to switch sports as they get on in life and help them to realise that alternative sports exist when they are not fit enough for some others.
We must be aware of constraints on people's time. People tend to work longer hours, to travel for longer and to want more time with their families, which means that they have less time for organised physical activity.
Will the minister give way on that point?
No, I had better press on.
There is a growth in sports activities that fit into short time spans. Those sports sometimes require changing facilities that are more accessible to people for shorter periods. We need more home-based activities and opportunities for sports in which families can participate together.
Higher education is a major influence on participation in sport, because students have increased access to a range of affordable sports activities. That could be good news for the levels of participation in physical activity by women, because there has been an increase in the number of women who attend higher education. We must consider the points of transition, because we know that physical activity tends to fall away during transition from school to jobs or into the community.
Will the minister give way?
I cannot. I am beginning to run out of time.
The key in the longer term is to encourage children and young people who are at school to participate in sport and to develop a lifelong habit of physical exercise. That is essential to our nation. At present, the physical activity of the average person peaks at the age of nine and then deteriorates. As many members have said, that deterioration is particularly fast in young girls. That is sometimes because young girls do not like competitive team sports and might prefer activities such as dance, as Brian Monteith pointed out. Some women want to take part in team sports—women's football is, I think, the fastest-growing sport in the world—but we must consider activities that are more attractive to young women, such as aerobics and equestrian activities.
The school sport co-ordinators programme and the active primary schools programme give children access to different sports and physical activities. Young people can be the link that brings their parents into sport. Young people often see examples of physical activity not at home, but instead in schools or communities. That can involve their parents in physical activity.
The sport 21 review gives us the opportunity to examine the issues that must be addressed and the challenges that must be faced. We have a common belief that sport matters. The way in which we develop future strategies for sport and physical recreation is vital to the quality of life in Scotland. I chair one of the review groups that brings together stakeholders and I intend to meet the deputy ministers of other portfolios to discuss the way in which sport and recreation impact on their portfolios. There are opportunities for joined-up government.
I am happy to accept the SNP amendment. However, that does not mean that we do not put real resources into sport. Real resources are going in. We will look for all the opportunities that we can find to maximise the contribution that those resources can make.
I will not support the Conservatives' amendment. Whatever the meaning of the Conservative amendment, its wording suggests that a physical education teacher will be put into every school—including a one-teacher rural primary school.
Nonsense.
I am afraid that that is what the amendment says, and that is why I cannot support it.