Speech in the Scottish Parliament 20 September 2012
20 September 2012
The Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport will not be
surprised that I will start by talking about our campaign to bring the national
football academy to Dundee, especially as I spent many days this summer
running about wearing a T-shirt that said exactly that.
She will also know that over 5,000 people have signed up to the
campaign to bring the academy to Dundee and that nearly 1,000 people have
e-mailed her letters outlining the reasons why it should come to our city.
There is a lot of support for it in Dundee.
This summer the national football academy project was described as
Dundee‟s sporting V&A, which is a sign that people are keen to make it
happen.
The working group, which is supported by the minister‟s Scottish
National Party council colleagues in Dundee, is now at an advanced
stage and has taken trips down to the centre in England to put our bid
together.
I am delighted that the minister outlined the timetable for the bidding
process just a couple of weeks ago.
Dundee is united in wanting to bring the football
academy to our city.
I want, though, to ask the minister a couple of questions about
the budget commitments to the national football academy.
Can she clarify in her closing remarks whether the funding will be
available for the national performance centre?
I have just totted up expenditure in the Scottish Government‟s
budget for the young Scots fund, which amounts to £24.7 million over three
years.
However, if I understand it clearly, the Scottish Government
promised £25 million to the national performance centre, so the commitment to
the young Scots fund already falls slightly short.
In addition, when giving evidence to the Education and Culture
Committee last year, Fiona Hyslop committed other moneys to the tune of about
£8 million from the young Scots fund for other cultural projects.
Those commitments are in excess of £32 million, but there is only
£24.7 million in the budget over the next three years.
I would be grateful if the minister could clarify in her closing
remarks how much will be spent on the national performance centre, whether it
will all come from the young Scots fund, which seems to be a bit elastic, and
whether additional funds might be made available to fund it from the sports
budget.
I was very excited this summer by our tennis success, so much so
that when Andy Murray took on Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, I decided to
survey our tennis facilities in Dundee.
I spent a day going round with a video camera—the video is online
if anyone wants to see the state of our facilities.
We had a lot of interest after posting it.
For example, Judy Murray tweeted me and made the powerful comment,
which Tennis Scotland representatives agreed with when I met them, that we need
good facilities if we are not just to encourage children to try sport, but to
maintain their interest and keep them coming back to sport.
I do not know whether the minister has had a chance to see the
video, but it is clear from it that the facilities across our city are
different in different communities.
Indeed, in Lochee, the facility is rather disgraceful, being
overgrown and having no lines on the courts.
Shona Robison: Is Jenny Marra trying to say that what she
describes is a recent phenomenon? Does she accept that, if there is a problem
with the facilities, it tends to go back a few years to a previous
Administration‟s tenure?
Jenny Marra: The minister makes a fair point, because there has been
underinvestment for years.
However, it is about life chances and opportunities for our
children, so she should look seriously at the issue.
