All 1 Debates between Michael Connarty and Hugh Robertson

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Connarty and Hugh Robertson
Thursday 20th June 2013

(11 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Hugh Robertson Portrait The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Hugh Robertson)
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I meet Scottish Ministers regularly to discuss a range of sports policy issues. Chief among those are the Glasgow Commonwealth games in 2014 and the Youth Olympic games bid for 2018, both of which include swimming competitions.

Michael Connarty Portrait Michael Connarty
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I commend the Government in England for making it compulsory at key stages 1 and 2 to teach children to swim. However, that entitlement does not exist in Scotland. There has been a call from the Amateur Swimming Association not only to train swimmers for the Commonwealth and Olympic games but for better swimming safety. It wants a national entitlement to swimming teaching. In 2011, six children died by accidental drowning in Scotland and 47 in the UK; the figure for adults in the UK in that year was 407. Surely it is a human right for people to learn to swim so that they do not drown if they fall into the water.

Hugh Robertson Portrait Hugh Robertson
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I do not know about a basic human right; it is a matter of common sense and safety. There is no doubt that there is a straightforward correlation between young people learning to swim and curbing deaths by drowning. I would encourage anybody to ensure that every single one of our young children is able to swim.