Govanhill Baths Community Trust
Registered Scottish Charity No: SC 036162 
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Other relevant recent key Quotes

Big Lottery Fund Scotland Board Member David Campbell, 

"Every person in Scotland should be able to enjoy the health benefits of sport in an environment which supports and encourages their enthusiasm for physical exercise. It is only by opening up access to new and improved sporting venues that more people will have this opportunity to enjoy fun and innovative activities. Today's funding will help to ensure that this is the case for youngsters and wider communities across the country. (Scottish Executive Press Release 31st August 2004"

First Minister Jack McConnell was speaking at a visit to Annan swimming pool which is to be upgraded at a cost of £331,573.

"I want 21st Century Scotland to provide opportunities for everyone, regardless of their age, or ability, to participate in sport.

"That is why investment in sports facilities in every part of Scotland is so important. Everyone, no matter where they live, should be able to enjoy some sort of physical activity and we will continue to work with sportscotland to complete our programme of new and refurbished sports facilities, including swimming pools, right across the country." (Scottish Executive Press Release 7th August 2004)

Frank Mr McAveety Sport and Culture Minister (at the time) said:

"While not everybody will be inclined to reach elite levels in swimming, it must be recognised that swimming at any level can provide significant health and other benefits.

"I’m delighted to be able to launch Scottish Swimming’s strategy to get children and adults from all ages, genders and backgrounds into the pool.

"Swimmers here today are receiving awards for their achievements but the rewards for all participants in terms of health, emotional development and general well-being are enormous. Swimming as an activity can play an important role in meeting the targets set out in Sport 21 and the Executive’s Physical Activity Strategy

"This strategy seeks to increase the availability of opportunity which will allow beginners to learn, recreational swimmers to increase their participation, or the more serious athlete to aspire to national level and beyond." (20th June 2004)

What has been said in the Recent Past

I n November 2001, sportscotland launched a Swimming Pool Upgrade Programme under the Sports Facilities Programme of the Lottery Sports Fund, kick-starting the process of investment into Scotland’s deteriorating stock of swimming pools by allocating £10 million to the programme. To date ten awards totalling over £3 million have been made under the programme.

The best ideas often come from within the community. They know the gaps and failures in services in their area. Service improvement and innovation come best in response to pressure from demanding, informed and confident consumers .

“To make sure community consultation and involvement is improved across Scotland and that people have a voice in decision-making in their own communities we are finding new ways to give communities more influence over the delivery of local services.

“We are emphasising empowering communities - so that people have the means to influence, to manage and to deliver success. we will be working .... to make community empowerment an increasing reality, supporting...new approaches to community participation.

 (Scottish Executive, Social Inclusion, Action Note)

Other Points of Reference and Quotes

Govanhill: Insecure Scotland - Building Better Communities, December 2000, concluded "that some things in Govanhill are still getting worse rather than better, and that the area is still located somewhere between 'Excluded Scotland' and 'Insecure Scotland'.  This report presents an important challenge to policy makers and service providers to sharpen their understanding of what is happening in ‘at risk’ communities like Govanhill, to maximise their efforts in order to prevent further deterioration and to establish a more meaningful dialogue with ordinary members of the public.” (p22)

Social Justice .. a Scotland where EVERYONE MATTERS (2000)

"We will tackle the problems in the worst of these areas and prevent others from becoming    disadvantaged.  We will do this through an integrated approach to strategic planning, involving    communities in the renewal of their own neighbourhoods and by making sure these communities    can influence what happens in their own area. We will make sure services, including health and    community care, are organised around the needs of the individuals and communities rather than    the benefit of the agencies which deliver those services...

Delivering social justice will involve people, places and processes. It will require new ideas, organisations, professional perspectives and community commitments. But it will also need a more effective rethink of how to allocate and use public budgets. Here we describe how we  have begun to develop such budgetary systems within the Scottish Executive and the discussions we have begun with other social partners... it is not simply the amounts of money involved in particular programmes and places, which will help deliver the outcomes we want. Rather the ways in which budgets are integrated across sectors such as education, health and housing, (and leisre and sport and recreation) and targeted between places and people, and spent in line with community preferences also matter. We are aiming for a budgetary system that is driven more by local requirements and preferences rather than the traditional vertical structures or 'silos' of government."

The following paragraphs are taken from sportscotland's website. If the words are to be believed, then we must act on them for the good of all.

“The impact of sport and physical activity on children and young people can be extremely positive, providing an opportunity for personal and social development and a positive alternative to crime, drugs and alcohol abuse. Naturally, it improves health and fitness; but it can also boost confidence and self esteem, teach leadership, teamwork and social skills that can be used in all aspects of life. Sport also offers valuable lessons on how to win and how to lose. It teaches the benefits of hard work and how to treat others with respect.”

“The role that sport can play in the wider national social policy agenda, particularly in the areas of social inclusion and health. Sport offers many potential social benefits to individuals and communities. The challenge for Scottish sport, in meeting the social policy agenda, is to consider how much it reflects and reinforces society's inequalities and the extent to which we can confront and tackle them.

Sport is an ideal vehicle for improving self-esteem and helping people feel better about themselves. If we can stimulate hope in people through sport, then we give individuals a greater opportunity to break out of the cycle of poverty so many face in Scotland."

Current Thinking on Sport and Social Issues

The Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair recently said that ‘a good sports policy was a good education policy, a good health policy and a good anti-crime policy.’

Development Department Research Programme Research Findings No. 86:
"The Role of Sport in Regenerating Deprived Urban Areas"
(http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/kd01/aqua/rsrdua-00.htm)

Produced by sportscotland in conjunction with the Scottish Executive examines the potential contribution of sport to improving health, education, and employment, reducing youth crime and developing community spirit.

For a number of reasons sport has not fully realised its potential contribution to a range of social issues. To maximise sport's contribution, there is a need to adopt a need-based, outreach approach, using local facilities and recruiting local staff.

Sport and health - The frequency of activity required to achieve and sustain physical health benefits is difficult for many to achieve in sport.  Factors underpinning the success of activity provision include local facilities; recognising the importance of friendship groups and emphasising the intrinsic value of activity.

Sport and crime - Traditional facility-based programmes have a limited impact. Sport is most effective when combined with programmes addressing wider issues of personal and social development.

Sport and minority ethnic groups - There is limited data about minority ethnic groups and participation in sport and physical activity in Scotland. Several factors reduce the opportunities for casual participation, the variety of sports which can be accessed and limit facility access for clubs at premium times. There is a lack of understanding of inter- and intra-minority group differences, often compounded by 'ghettoising' policy and practice.

The environmental value of sports - Sports facilities make an important contribution to local physical infrastructures, providing a social focus and affecting people's perception of their neighbourhood.  All SIPs and local authorities should explore the potential for integrating sports programmes into wider social programmes.

Extending remits and integrating policies - There is limited systematic information about minority ethnic groups and participation in sport and physical activity in Scotland (this is surprising given their concentration in a few areas).  Although some barriers to participation are common to both ethnic minority and white communities there are specific issues relating to cultural/religious beliefs and perceived racist attitudes among both providers and other participants.

Social Justice ….a Scotland where everyone matters: Annual Report 2000: Social Justice a lasting commitment - (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/social/sjss-00.asp)(See also reference sources).

Social justice is at the heart of the work of the Scottish Executive, the elimination of child poverty and building strong, inclusive communities.  Because the factors contributing to poverty, deprivation and social exclusion are wide-ranging, their strategy covers economic, education, health, justice and communities issues.  Combining economic and social progress.  Achieving social justice in Scotland requires new ways of working across each area of policy and practice. Many organisations - local government, the voluntary sector, business, and communities - have worked to tackle poverty and exclusion for years. Community empowerment and building strong, thriving communities is central to social justice strategy.

“Our policies are designed to empower disadvantaged communities. We have piloted People's Juries to increase the public's say over decision-making in their areas. We are strengthening community representation on Social Inclusion Partnership boards and over £1 million is being invested in a major new programme of training to improve participation in decision-making. Under the Working for Communities Pathfinder programme we are exploring new ways of giving local people a stronger voice in ensuring services meet their needs.”

Every child matters - Scotland has some of the highest rates of relative child poverty in the developed world.

Every community matters - Scotland has some of the most disadvantaged communities in the UK. We need to reduce inequalities between communities.

Measuring progress - By committing to measure what matters, we have the best opportunity for delivering social justice in Scotland.  

Testing and measuring community opinion   http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/innovative.pdf

Assessment of Innovative Approaches to Testing Community Opinion

The Scottish Executive has recently published the results of a commissioned study of approaches to testing community opinion involving an international search of the relevant literature and ten detailed case studies of measuring community opinion at various sites across Scotland. 

Social Justice .. a Scotland where EVERYONE MATTERS (2000): "Integrated local actions, often involving expenditures by different government agencies and a range of council departments, are now essential aspects of partnerships to promote area regeneration and individual wellbeing. Partnership action may be frustrated however by local budgetary processes. In some instances the localised mix of available budgets may not match the required pattern of spend within the project, even where the overall funds would meet strategic requirements. That is, there are localised mismatches in the mix of budgets and its alignment with the problems. There may also be instances where some critical issue blocks local progress yet none of the partners has relevant spending powers."