 Felloslleg Teimlo wedi nha tîmwys maltha innovative o gynnwys iaith nifer yr Secretary of Government o fy mwrdd o'r cyd Quranau a ministerial shifts, gan cymdeithaswyr ydym pod ti yn ei ddaEd pobl wroteulinol arall y gallu prolygau busnes, yn� reminisran 4-6, yn y name gyda Karen Adam, Year 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. That debate will be concluded without any questions being put. Mwatchies, who wish to contribute to the debate, please press the request-to-speak buttons now or place an hour in the chat function if they are joining us remotely. I call on Karen Adam, who is joining us remotely, to open the debate. around seven minutes, Ms Adam. Thank you, Presiding Officer. First of all, I'd like to say that it's a privilege to speak to this motion and I can only start by echoing the sentiments of Marie Todd, the Cabinet Secretary for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport. When she said that the Scottish athletes brought back a staggering amount of medals from Tokyo as part of Paralympic's GB, she also spoke of the pride in our athletes and our hopes that they inspired others to take part in sport and perhaps participate in future games. Those are sentiments that everyone can share and I want to add my voice in congratulating all those who took part and all those who supported the athletes in reaching their full potential, their coaches, their clubs, families and others. A collective effort such as this creates a platform for Paralympians to excel, and this is not despite their disability but because of their ability. The 33 Scots in the Paralympics GB team brought home 21 medals, which is an amazing hit rate. Two gold, nine silver, ten bronze, they all deserve recognition. As MSP for Bampshire and Bucking Coast, I would like to mention three individuals from the north-east in particular. Cyclist Neil Fahey was one of our most celebrated Paralympians, indeed one of our most decorated athletes in general. He has an astonishing number of medals from the Paralympics, the track world championships and the commonwealth games. In Tokyo, he claimed another gold. Also, swimmer Tony Shaw is someone who has been massively successful. Recently, during the European and World Para Championships, Tony also came home from Tokyo with a bronze. The third athlete from the north-east, I want to mention, is swimmer Connor Morrison from Tareff. Connor started out with the Gary Gators in Inverruri. He progressed to the University of Aberdeen performance programme and has been a medal winner at the World Para Swimming European Championships, also domestically. Interviewed before the games, Connor was realistic about his medal hopes and said that he was going to Tokyo for the experience. As he said, to put the best version of himself out there. He qualified from the heat to reach the final of the S14 100-metre breaststroke. No medal this time, but this motion is about the positive impact and inspiring endeavours that Connor and his fellow athletes have on the people in Bamshur and Bucking Coast, around the rest of Scotland and beyond. Tareff to Tokyo is a story with all of that positive impact and all of that inspiration, and the same goes for every other athlete at the Games. It is not just about the medals. Now, I am sorry to strike a somber note in this speech, but we have to be clear that when it comes to disabled people and sport, there are challenges too. It would be remiss of me not to mention the challenges faced by the deaf community when it comes to participation. They themselves, although unable to take part in the Paralympics, unless they have another disability, still face disadvantage when it comes to participating in sports. I hope that this is something that I can use my platform as a child of a deaf adult or a coda to highlight during my time in Parliament. On another point, just last month, the University of the West of Scotland and the Observatory for Sport in Scotland published a research paper by two professors. Richard Davidson and Gail Macpherson, they shockingly revealed that only 12 per cent of disabled children in Scotland had taken part in sport in the relevant research period, as opposed to 81 per cent non-disabled children. That gap does close to some degree in adulthood, but not nearly enough. Meanwhile, the gap for disabled adults living in poverty is stark. Indeed, last year, Professor Tess Kay of the University of Stirling published a research review titled Sport and Social Inequality, saying that low family income poverty was the main driver behind whether or not people of all ages participated in sport. Sadly, it has long been recognised that a household with a disabled person is much more likely to be a household in poverty. You do not have to take my word for it, as charities like the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Disability Rights UK and others. The implications for participation in sport are clear and there is a bigger point to make here. Life for disabled people in Scotland, whether the impairment is intellectual or physical, should be the same as life for everyone in Scotland. Accessible, equal and inclusive, but we still have some way to go. The Scottish Government is taking positive action on disability and on sport and active living more generally. I am not going to read out the pages of the programme for government, and that will come as a relief to some. However, the Scotland-wide launch of child disability payment and adult disability payment, administered by Social Security Scotland, should make a significant difference for disabled people. The Scottish Government will also double investment in sport and active living to £100 million a year by the end of this Parliament, which is excellent news. The more that we level the playing field, the more that disabled people will have a chance to take part in sport at a grassroots level. As numbers rise, more talent will be identified. Not everyone will get a chance to go to the Paralympics, but taking part in sport is good in itself for fitness, self-esteem, social connections and much more. However, whether disabled or not, whether they are focused on gold at the Paralympics or just having a more active life, we can all be inspired by the example set by Connor Morrison of Turiff and all the other Paralympians—medal winners or not—the inspiration to put the best version of ourselves out there. To conclude, Presiding Officer, it is important that we recognise the achievements of these Paralympians, that we celebrate with them, but not forgetting to ensure that everyone in society has an opportunity at fulfilling our full potential, but we need adequate support. We all need support at some points in our life, at various levels and at varying degrees. If we can ensure that a society with equalities is at the heart of everything that it does, then we create a society where thriving is possible, where celebrating each other and our achievements are contributing to a health and wellbeing economy, where purpose and joy in life prevails. I doubt that anyone could argue with that vision. Inclusion and equality are always supporting each other to put the best version of ourselves out there. Thank you very much indeed, Ms Adam. The next speaker will be Jerry Mbalfour, who also joins us remotely. Mr Mbalfour, around four minutes please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I thank Karen Adam for bringing forward this debate this evening. I also join my colleagues in congratulating the whole of the team GB after a wonderful success this summer. We had a wide range of athletes complete across a vast number of sports and each and every one of them has amplified the British spirit and shown the best of what our country has to offer. From our most senior and decorated representatives to those who made the Olympic debut this summer, I am sure that the whole chamber will join me in communicating our utmost pride and thanks to them. It is difficult to pick out individuals, but Sarah Storey, who became the most decorated parapher in history, not only has her curious fan an incredible eight games over almost three decades, but her honoured track versus two very different sports, women and cycling. I would like to wish both Sarah and all our athletes on both games a warm congratulations. Presiding Officer, I would like briefly to take a moment to draw attention to the unfortunate fact that has been notably less coverage of the Paralympics than that for the Olympics. Being the Prince or online, it was felt like you had to do more work to find coverage for your online action than you did just one month ago. Where were the athletes plastered over the front pages of the newspapers? There was nothing. The level of analysis and pungentry outside of live broadcast left many of us feeling hard done by, especially after incredible broadcast and efforts from a month ago. The International Paralympic Committee said that they derived their name from the Greek word para, which I am sure that you know about, Presiding Officer, means either the side or the long side, inferring that the two games exist as peers. As wonderful as the Paralympics have been this year, it is clear that the name is not yet to be lived up to, and I am sure that everyone in this chamber will join me in looking forward to a more inclusive feature not only in three years' time in Paris, but in continuing support for different activities and sports. Finally, Deputy Presiding Officer, I would like to make one final point. That is to remind those, and I am sure that most of us do not need to remind them, that an athlete is immense for what they do. Too often, people compare apples with oranges. How often have I heard the comment that if an athlete with an amputee leg can run 100 metres in X time, why should disabled people be given benefits instead of just getting a job? That represents a way of thinking that reduces any kind of work that a disabled person should have to the ability to excel in either the sports world or in full-time employment. Those comparisons are similar to wondering why every able-bodied person cannot run a sub 10 second 100 metres when using boats can do it. The reality is that humans all have different abilities and excel in different fields. Disabled people's contributions to society are varied and individual, special and are not necessarily quantifiable by their place in the permanent workforce. Many disabled people do a lot of volunteer work because that kind of low-intensity job is much more suited to their needs and abilities. Of course, it would be difficult to argue that society could function without the contribution of our amazing volunteering sector and yet it often does not get the same recognition. In short, I would encourage people to think twice before making such comments in the future. Consider the just as they might do to compare using boats to a disabled person, not to be compared to share a story and to our teammates. We all contribute differently to society and we must recognise the fact and accept that different people have different metrics of success. In conclusion, let me again congratulate everyone that took part in the Paralympics with their success in regard to what happens next in their life and look forward to seeing them compete or many of them compete in Paris in three years' time. I thank my colleague Carl Martin for securing this debate in chamber tonight. The 2020 Paralympics may have come to an end, but the motivation and inspiration this year's event instilled in us all continues to live on. The core Paralympic values at the heart of the Paralympic movement are courage, determination, inspiration and equality, and there is certainly an abundance of each of those values in displaying Tokyo this year. This year, Tokyo became the first city to stage two Paralympic games, having hosted the 1964 event with 375 athletes from 21 nations taking part in nine sports. The 2020 event saw around 4,400 athletes from 162 national Paralympic committees competing in 539 meadow events across 22 sports, marking the largest number of athletes to compete in the games at once. In these 57 years' events, the disciplines and athletes eligibility have continually evolved, making the Paralympic games one of the biggest events in the international sports calendar, with international recognition and global media coverage. The achievement of our Fertigory Scottish athletes and their contribution to the success of Team GB must be celebrated. With an amazing 42 per cent of them winning medals and continued improvement upon the medal return for Scotland beating the Rio 2016 and London 2012 medal tallies, we are clearly a force to be reckoned with. I was personally delighted to see an impressive number of fifers on the team, but I will come back to them shortly. Although there have been many achievements, statistics from Scottish disability sport show that athletes with a disability still experience the lowest participation levels in sport and physical activity have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is therefore imperative that we build on the positivity of the 2020 summer games and work on meeting the individual's needs of disabled people to increase engagement in physical activity and sport. We have come a long way and made positive steps, common barriers to participation that still exist, and those must be tackled. Over the years of games and the men and women who represent their countries at the highest level in our sport have long played an important role in transforming attitudes towards people with disabilities and promoting a more inclusive society, but local groups and clubs are grass roots. It is at a community level that our future athletes start their journey and they must be our focus, which leads me on nicely to the work of disability sport fifers and our fifers. It would be a miss of me not to take this opportunity to highlight the contribution of them in Tokyo 2020. Disability sport fifers has been leading the development of inclusive sport and active recreation for children, young people and adults with physical, sensory or learning disabilities across fifers for 40 years. We have supported over 25 members to become GB summer or winter Paralympians, as well as enormous success in the European world championships. When you hear the disability sport fifers and coaches have represented a country at every Paralympic Games since 1984, and that six DSF members were among the first 20 Scots inducted into the Scottish Disability Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, you realise just how important local sport is to our sports at a national level. Athletes Owen Miller and Derek Ray are both proud members of DFS who have helped to raise its profile worldwide. Owen headed to Tokyo in August to make his step as a Paralympian and left realising his dream after winning a gold medal in the men's 1500m T20. Derek Ray is well known locally and has even flown the flag for Cercodian Fife for a number of years now, with a number of celebrated sport achievements under his belt, including the World Parathletics Marathon World Cup, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. I would like to commend Owen and Derek and their whole squad for their tireless and never-ending commitment to training in their sport. They are all fantastic role models for the next generation. In conclusion, presiding officer, while stereotypes and judgments are still reality for far too many people living with disabilities, the Paralympic Games continue to play a fundamental role in challenging close-minded attitudes about differences by promoting inclusivity and setting a new benchmark for what is thought to be possible. I look forward to the next decade to bring about even more positive change and increased participation as we continue to work together to break down barriers and provide more opportunities for all of our future Paralympic athletes to get out there, find a sport of love and fulfil their potential. Thank you, Mr Torrance. I now call Carl Mocchin, who will be followed by Brian Whittle. Miss Mocchin, again, four minutes. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I also congratulate Karen Adamott on securing this debate. The Tokyo Paralympics were as exciting and inspiring as ever, bringing an end to a summer of sport in the most remarkable of ways. It was great to see Team GB perform so well, coming second in the medal table with an excellent 124 medals, with the 33 strong Scottish contingent contributing 21 of those, and the best performance by Scots at a Paralympic Games since Sydney 2000, winning medals in 18 of the 22 sports. Team GB really have highlighted the wide array of talent that we have at our disposal, succeeding at the highest level and competing against the very best. We should be so proud of all our Paralympins for the effort that they and their teams put in during the most difficult of times, and they should be congratulated as we are doing this evening. Deputy Presiding Officer, our Paralympins truly are inspirational. Many of them have faced adversity in childhood or perhaps in later life, but all have overcome barriers that, in years gone by, would have perhaps stopped them from participating in sport. It is encouraging that sport in 2020-21 is so inclusive. We have a long way to go, but those games showcase the very best talent, talent that comes from years of hard work and often from people with numerous setbacks. I believe that more people are recognising the importance of the Paralympic Games more now than before, and I consider it crucial that we continue to highlight how vital this breakthrough is and how we should break down those banners and tackle stigma. There is, of course, still work to be done. We have to ensure that sport is accessible to everyone, and that means making sport accessible to disabled people. Ensuring that having a disability does not act as a barrier to individuals' ambitions and opportunities. Indeed, more investment is needed in inclusive sports to ensure that no one is left behind, and it is the responsibility of us as politicians, of the media, of wider society to highlight the positive impact that sport can have. It is our collective responsibility to do this, because, as I mentioned, in the most emotional events such as the Paralympics, we bring people together, we bring sports together, and to undervalue the positive impact that sport has on our society would be a mistake. There, RNIB Scotland, ahead of today's debate, set out some key asks, including increasing funding for disabled sport, including sports adapted for people with sight loss, and from things like tandem cycling, guided running, from the introductory session of classes for more advanced participants. That should act as a reminder to us that there remains a long way to go to ensure that sport is accessible for people with it from a wide range of disabilities. More of our sport Scotland, who have invested around £3 million into Scottish disability sport since the Rio Olympics in 2016, note that disabled athletes still face significant challenges that require joint working for us to overcome. The Tokyo Paralympics was a celebration of talent, diversity, inclusion and community. I think that we can all agree that it was a joy to watch. It was a joy to see Team GB, as we have all said, their coaches, their families and all the volunteers from local community sports centres and clubs deserve a great deal of credit for making the sacrifices that they have to bring us such success. It is right that we have this opportunity to commend the success today. I want to end this debate by saying that rather than a stepping stone towards ensuring that this Parliament gives sport the consideration that it deserves and the investment that sport and inclusive sport should have. Ms Mocken, I now call Brian Whittle, who will be followed by Martin Whitfield. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I start by congratulating Karen Mannams for securing time in the chamber for this debate. I thank her for giving me another opportunity to talk sport in this place. Two weeks in a row, my cup of runnath over. I spoke last week in my own member's debate about highlighting the incredible achievements of all the athletes in the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team, both in the Olympics and in the Paralympics. I also talked about the huge contribution to the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team that was made by Scotland. I have to note here that Gordon Reid, who is fresh from winning two medals in the wheelchair tennis, in Tokyo has gone on to win the doubles with his partner in the US Open. In doing so, he now holds the grand slam of tennis, which is holding all four slam events in the same calendar year, a feat that the mighty Djokovic just failed to do at the weekend. It is a truly remarkable achievement. I spoke of both the Olympics and the Paralympics in the same speech last week. I did that on purpose. To me, when we are watching either the Olympics or the Paralympics, we are just witnessing elite sport. I appreciate the motion that Karen Adam specifically talks about in the inspiring way in which those athletes raise awareness of disability. Of course, she is right. The public perception of what can be done begins to be overridden by the pre-conceptions of what can be done. I think that London 2012 was a watershed for the Paralympics in presenting to the global audience. However, I say again that when we are watching the Paralympics, just like when we are watching the Olympics or any other international competition, we are witnessing elite sport. Disability has nothing to do with it. Those athletes are supremely talented. Work is just as hard as any other sports person. There is fit as any other sports person. The approach to training and development is no different. The support network that I spoke about last week is just as important. It might be more important. I have actually been coached to Paralymp athletes before, and my approach was exactly the same—recognising that every athlete is different, has different strengths and weaknesses, responds to different inputs and, in the end, competes in events that have physiological requirements. I remember coaching an international athlete with cerebral palsy, and I was asked by the GB coach how I would make allowances for his disability. I told him that the athlete in question would get exactly the same attention and treatment as the rest of the squad. He did the same sessions of the rest of the squad at the same time as the rest of the squad. He suffered the same pain as the rest of the squad, and he got the same sympathy as the rest of the squad, and by that I mean none. That was exactly how he wanted to be treated—the same as everybody else, because he is an international athlete—the same as everybody else. If we have any doubt as to the skill levels of those athletes, I will refer the chamber to the day that we MSPs took on the Scottish power chair football team and within 10 minutes were 6-0 and some of us are still traumatised by that. It shows how, if you want to do a sport, it requires training, talent and dedication, and if you do not train, you will get smothered. I think that we need to consider how accessible sport is to all, especially disability sport. The Isher Tigers' power chair football team issue is mainly about transport to training and competition. There are players who want to participate but have no means of getting around. Last week, we discussed the importance of physical and mental health that sport and activity has on participants. We have a duty to enable that participation. Last week, I believe that sport is grossly underfunded in this country when we look at the amount that we spend on health and education. Last week, Christine Grahame highlighted the disparity of support between Olympic and Paralympic sport. Of course, she is right. However, we have to appreciate that Paralympic sport is in its relative infancy compared to Olympic sport, but it is catching up at pace. Although we have a long way to go in terms of recognising the need to properly support sport in general, and especially Paralympic sport, we should note that Team GB in Northern Ireland finished second in the Paralympic medal table. Perhaps we are doing more than many other countries in developing Paralympic sport, encouraging but so much more that we could be doing. At that point, I will once again thank Canada Arms for bringing this debate to the chamber. I would caution you against revealing the scores and performances of the Scottish Parliament football team. The risk of reputational damage is high. I call now Martin Whitfield, who will be followed by Stephanie Callaghan in four minutes. I'm very grateful, Deputy Presiding Officer. It's a great pleasure to follow Brian Whittle, although I think I would make mention that I think there was a young lady who did remarkably well at the tennis recently, who probably deserves mention. My thanks to Karen Adams for bringing this debate today. The Paralympics date back to 1948, when it was the Stoke-Mandival Games. They have been around a long time, becoming the Paralympics in 1960. Like so many people here today, I want to extend my thanks to the coaches and to the families and to all of the supporting organisations that sit round our Paralympians. However, I do want to put on record my awe, and I do mean my awe, at the achievements of Samantha Kinghorn of Libby Clegg, MBE, Stephen Clegg, Mickey Ewell and Maria Lyle. I would like to take the short time that I have to draw attention to Maria Lyle, because her place in East Lothian history is already written. If you look at her Twitter account, which I use today more for humour than research, she calls herself the average Scottish lassie with dodgy legs. She then just happens to put that she is, of course, Paralympic, world, commonwealth and European medallist, which is not bad. Her mum was a PE teacher and at primary school, her mum got her to do the bleep test, which is a sort of fitness programme. She says of it, I managed to finish the test and be the last one standing. This was the first time I ever felt that feeling of success and being good at something, and I've never looked back since. I can tell you as a former primary school teacher, with authority, the bleep test is not easy. She won the first GB athletics medal at Tokyo, securing the bronze and the women's 100 metre T35, but she began at the age of nine with Dunbar Running Club and she began competing locally and nationally in sprint events and in July 2012, at the mere age of 12, she posted a world record time of 32.37 in the 200 metres at the Birmingham Games. Sadly, unfortunately, it couldn't count because she was only 12, so she was too young to have a disability listing. That had to wait, but she kept improving and in 2014, with her classification as a T35 athlete, in the February, she went to Dubai and entered the 100 and 200 metres and won gold in both of them with 14.58. That was also a personal best. The 200 metres, she ran 31.01 and beat the lady who'd taken the gold previously because of age. Then in May, she competed in the Bedford International Open, set another world record, she keeps setting world records, of 14.3 surpassing her own record, and the 200 metres, slightly later, were 30.7. Then, obviously, we have Tokyo. She is a beacon, and she's a beacon that should be cheered and held up as a symbol of what can be achieved. I want to echo what Jeremy Balfour said about the call for parity with regard to these athletes. Claire Slavre, who is Dunbar Grammar School's head teacher, wrote of her, we had an awesome start to our Friday. Our students had the privilege of watching a live interview with former student and Paralympic superstar, Lyle Maria. Our sports ambassadors did a great job of interviewing her and her answers were honest, insightful and inspiring. I think that that is what is truly important here. We have heard the challenges that face the sport, face people with disability, face people with disability particularly during Covid, but I quickly just want to mention Scottish Disability Sport and its activity inclusion model, which allows for changes to be brought in and also its SDS young person sports panel. I do not want to be negative so much, but look at what has been achieved. It is a small part of what we still need to achieve in sport, in employment, in care, in schools and in our communities. I finish with a reminder of what Maria has said. You need to enjoy your sport, but remember that it is not everything. Make sure that there is a balance in your life. Wise words indeed. I now call on Stephanie Callaghan, who will be the last speaker in the open debate. Again, four minutes, Ms Callaghan. Scottish Disability Sport and its partners across sport governance, local authorities, health, education and more continue to make great strides supporting inclusion within physical activity and sport, and I commend them for their work. Today, however, my speech is based around the personal experience and recollections of one woman from a Oddingston and Bales health constituency. This incredible woman is a valued NHS worker of almost 30-year service and her experience of supporting our Scottish triathlon para-athletes during the Tokyo Olympics really touched me. It demonstrates that success should not be measured in gold, silver or bronze medals, a point that I know my friend Karen made earlier today, too. From that constituence point of view, many things stood out from the Japanese hosts and local organisers, who all did an incredible job, to the build for the para-triathlon site, incorporating platforms over sand and water with ramps and bridges over 1.5km long. Truly awesome from an engineering perspective. Presiding Officer, the warmth of the hosts and volunteers and their wish to make sure everyone was comfortable was heartwarming, with every one of them extending invites to the whole team, urging them to return once Covid had passed to fully experience their wonderful country and culture and all its richness, and I certainly hope that that is so impossible. The technical teams were made up of international colleagues from across the world, with many having met at previous games. Tokyo was their first meeting in two years, and my resident rates them as some of the warmest, most life-affirming people that you could ever want to meet. They often describe themselves as the technical family. She also talked to me about the daily health surveillance app that played its part in protecting against Covid-19 and the challenges around restrictions, training disruption and adjusting to the heat and humidity, which is not something that us Scottish people are used to. Travel was a particular challenge, and the baggage handlers really carefully managed the specialist kit. Hand cycles, racing chairs and specialist bikes were very aware that those items would not be easily replaced if damaged. Despite all those pressures, I am told that our athletes were outstanding at every point. Sadly, the grandstand was empty to the usual spectators, with family and friends sorely missed by all. However, the support personnel and other athletes cheered as loud as they could at every event, making as much noise as humanly possible to show their backing for one another. I am sure that everyone here will agree that our par athletes deserve huge respect and admiration, and it is great that their entering the mainstream has been recognised as elite in their own right. That is long overdue, and I am told that they are grateful to Channel 4 for helping to raise their profile. For me, that is yet another reason to hope that attempts to sell off Channel 4 do fail. Par athletes have faced bigger challenges than most of us could ever imagine, and as they cheered each other over the line to an emotional finish, officials, photographers and medics discreetly wiped away tears from their eyes, an unforgettable experience and a real show of solidarity. Going forward, let us hope that elite pathway opportunities for par athletes continue to grow, that opportunities to participate in disability sport continue to grow, and that the reach and the power of sport continues to grow too. Interestingly, Brexit was also a hot topic among the EU, Commonwealth and Irish officials, with many keen to welcome an independent Scotland back into the EU. It is good to hear that our friends are leaving a light on for Scotland, and I hope that the next Par Olympics will host a full-indy Scotland team, and I am sure that that does not surprise them to hear whether they agree with me or not. Finally, I thank the incredible local women who shared their story with me and I applaud the inspiring Tokyo Par athletes. May they go from strength to strength as the Paris Games approach? I am absolutely delighted to be able to close for the Scottish Government. I want to thank Karen Adam for bringing that motion to the Scottish Parliament and also to all the others who have contributed to the debate. Last week, we had the opportunity to focus on the Olympics, and I am delighted that this week we have the opportunity to focus on the achievement of our Scottish Par Olympians and all those who are involved in disability sport. I again want to put on record our congratulations to the Organising Committee, the International Olympic Committee and, of course, the Japanese Government for putting on such wonderful games despite the challenges of the pandemic. As others have mentioned, Scottish athletes on Par Olympics GB made history at the Tokyo 2020 Par Olympic Games by winning an amazing 21 medals. That is greater than the number of medals won at both the London 12 and the Rio 2016 Par Olympic Games, and it is the highest number won by Scottish athletes since Sydney in 2000. I want to give a special mention, as others have done, to Fin Grayham, from Strath Peffa, in my constituency, who won silver in the sea 3000m individual pursuit as well as silver in the sea 13 road race, what an achievement. Of course, those performances and medals are a result of years of hard work and commitment from the athletes, their coaches and their wider support teams. I live in Strath Peffa and I have watched Fin grow up. He went to school along with my children. What is particularly pleasing is witnessing first hand that connection our communities feel with our athletes. We see the years of work, we feel a part of it and we are inspired by them. What is happening in my home village in Strath Peffa is being replicated all over Scotland, because, as we said, Scots punched above our weight on Team GB this year, so that pride is being felt in many communities right across Scotland. I want to take the opportunity to thank our sporting governing bodies, Scottish Disability Sports, Sport Scotland, including the Institute for Sport, UK Sport, the British Paralympic Association and the National Lottery for their continued work to support our athletes. As we know, and it's a subject that others have mentioned today, disabled athletes often face significant challenges above those faced by non-disabled athletes. Sport Scotland created the Para-initiative group in 2017 to improve the opportunities for para-athletes and to enable more para-athletes to make progress in performance sport. Sport Scotland's corporate strategy sport for life celebrates how everyone in Scotland can benefit from sport and sets out their commitment to inclusion. A key element for improving sporting opportunities for all disabled people is our relationship with Scottish Disability Sport. Scottish Disability Sport is the co-ordinating body for all sports for people of all ages and abilities with a physical, sensory and learning disability. During the pandemic, Scottish Disability Sport developed a suite of online projects and programmes to meet the identified needs of volunteers, coaches, participants and athletes. Those included virtual para-sport days to enable families to get involved in support mental wellbeing, a varied programme of daily activity called the Young Start programme, as well as a challenge with Scottish Paralympians providing short videos containing advice and inspirational messages. We know that the pandemic has had a particularly significant impact on disabled athletes and participants, many of whom have had a shield for such a long time. I fundamentally believe that sport should be available to everyone without any barriers. Sport is such a powerful tool to improving our physical and mental health and to bringing communities together. Our programme for government announced last week how we aim to address the deep-seated inequalities in our society and create a fair, equal society for all. It commits us to doubling investment in sport and active living to £100 million a year by the end of this Parliament. That investment will enable us to rebuild capacity and resilience in the sector following the pandemic and ensure that we address inequalities in access to physical activity in sport. As the Parliament will be aware, priority will be to support participation across all groups and to tackle inequalities. We will work with Sport Scotland as well as organisations and individuals right across Scotland to break down the barriers that keep too many people from leading active lives, including some of the barriers that we have touched on this evening. I am really pleased that Karen Adam has recognised volunteers in her motion. I am aware of the thousands of people across Scotland who volunteer to give people of all ages and abilities the opportunity to participate in sport and physical exercise. Sport clubs are often in a unique position in communities. Since becoming minister, I have been so impressed with the conversations that I have had with the sector about their commitment to breaking down barriers to activity that exist. It is often volunteers in clubs in a variety of roles that contribute to breaking down those barriers and help to make sport and physical activity accessible for all. In conclusion, I want once again to thank everyone involved in team GB, our inspiring Paralympic athletes, our sporting sector and especially to the thousands of volunteers making a difference every week. 2022 brings the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, where our para-athletes will look to build on successes from the Gold Coast. Glasgow, of course, is the first Commonwealth Games to have para-enabled-bodied athletes competing on the same programme, and in only three years' time we will again be supporting team GB at the Paris Paralympics. I am looking forward in this period of time to working with partners right across the sporting sector to address inequalities in access to physical activity in sport and our aspirations to become a more active and healthier and fairer nation. Thank you to everyone who has made a contribution to this debate this evening and thank you, Karen Adam, for bringing in the motion. There we go. Excellent. Thank you very much indeed minister. Thank you Ms Adam. That concludes the debate and I close this meeting.