Chamber and committees

I am younger than the convener, but I remember when Kirkcaldy swimming club was in the harbour, and its membership numbers were very few until we got a pool in Kirkcaldy and I learned to swim.

On the benefits of swimming and the health and wellbeing of the population of Scotland, I once played football, but I am no longer able to do that physical activity, so I recently got a membership for a swimming club in Kirkcaldy, and I use it two or three times a week. As Abi Thomson says, I now interact socially with a number of people there. Will somebody expand a wee bit on how the health and wellbeing of the population of Scotland is affected by swimming?

In the light of the evidence, perhaps the committee would consider closing PE1657 under rule 15.7 of standing orders for the following reasons: the Cabinet Secretary for Transport has stated that it would not be realistic to promise new dualling in relation to the A77; the Scottish Government has completed five major road improvement projects on the A77; and regular six-monthly meetings have been established between the petitioner, Transport Scotland, and Amey. In addition, the committee has undertaken significant work to explore the issues that are raised in the petition.

In the light of the evidence, perhaps the committee would consider closing petition PE1610 under rule 15.7 of standing orders for the following reasons: the Cabinet Secretary for Transport has stated that it would not be realistic to promise new dualling in relation to the A77 and A75; the Scottish Government has completed six major road improvement projects on the A75, and work is in progress to design and assess the options to bypass Springholm and Crocketford on the A75; and regular six-monthly meetings have been established between the petitioner, Transport Scotland, and Amey. In addition, the committee has undertaken significant work to explore the issues that are raised in the petition

Perhaps the committee would consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders for the following reasons: Audit Scotland has investigated concerns about the application of the STAG guidance and concluded that the STAG process had been applied in the initial stages of the work on the A82; the Scottish Government has previously stated that it is unwilling to carry out a reappraisal of the preferred route option for the upgrade to the A82 between Tarbet and Inverarnan as it would repeat work that has already been carried out, resulting in

“considerable delay and additional cost”,

and has confirmed that members of the public and other stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide formal comment or objection to the proposed scheme during the statutory consultation period; and Transport Scotland officials are continuing to engage with the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority on the detail and the make-up of the scheme, including having discussions on how to incorporate active travel facilities throughout the whole scheme in a sympathetic way.

As somebody who represents some of the areas of highest deprivation in Scotland, I am a bit taken aback by the figures that Dianne Breen gave that almost 100 per cent of children go to those classes as first-time swimmers. That highlights how important it is for children to learn to swim at primary school.

On funding for that, how can the Scottish Government help to ensure that primary school children learn to swim? I am a member of the governing party, so I am asking how we can ensure that every primary school kid learns to swim. It is so important. In areas of deprivation, levels of health and wellbeing are very low, so if we can increase that through sport and activity, it will help us.

Thank you, convener. My question is on opening facilities that have been closed. We all know that swimming pools have huge costs, especially running costs, and that heating the water is probably the biggest cost that such facilities will have. There is modern technology out there and there are new ways of heating pools and using energy. Why are local authorities not embracing that as quickly as they could? Would facilities be more viable if they embraced the new technology that is out there to reduce costs?

In the light of the evidence from the cabinet secretary, perhaps the committee would consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders for the following reasons: a preferred route for a permanent solution to the landslip risks on the A83 Rest and Be Thankful has now been identified; draft orders for both the medium-term and long-term solutions were published in December 2024, and the period for submitting objections ended on 7 February 2025; and Transport Scotland is now in the process of considering representations on, and objections to, the draft orders.

Perhaps the committee would consider writing to the Scottish Government to seek its views on whether, in the interests of safety and parity with formal campsites and areas, landowners who allow overnight motorhome habitation should be required to obtain a licence for that activity.

I am in full agreement that we should pass the petition to the Criminal Justice Committee, because it would have far more time for an investigation than this committee would.

Perhaps the committee could consider writing to stakeholders to seek their views on the action that the petition calls for. Those stakeholders should include COSLA; Connect, which was formerly the Scottish Parent Teacher Council; the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland; Together, the Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights; and the Scottish Youth Parliament.