 Are you looking for a business? Is our members' business debate on motion 2537, in the name of Brian Whittle, on Dwyne Valley Boxing Club? The debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I would ask members who wish to speak to press their request-to-speak buttons now. I call on Brian Whittle to open the debate. Thank you, Presiding Officer. During a recent visit to Delmellentun, the Dwyne Valley Boxing Club was brought to my attention as a really positive influence in the local community. They invited me down for a visit and, given, as I know, our members gyda'r ysgol yn ei chael i gyd yn y cwrdd, ac yn gweld i ni i ymddorol i ddod yn y plentau. Fynd i gael i'n gweithio, rwy'n ddod i'n ddod i'r 12-gwyllt. Felly mae'r gweithio i'r ddod i'r ddod i'r gweithio i Eirin, Mike Tyson i'r ddod i'r edrych oherwydd gan ydych chi'n gweithio. Maes i'r sesif. A i chi oes ddod yn llotw rhan o gweithio dros. Felly dyw hefyd, byddai cyfrifiadau oeddy. Mae'r ddefnyddiau yn cyfw Moole Barrow. Gweithio, rai gennym ni nhw. Mae hefyd. Yn ef yn ei golyg o'r llun oeddydunios rhan o Sam Mullin a Fydo Gwladd yn allu'r cyfrifau ac mae hi gweld eich cyfrifau i weithio. O ran oeddo, newydd o'r llun oeddydd ond, mae angen i chi'n amddangos i'r llun awdurdod when a garage and now run s a weight training gym and boxing gym from an industrial unit in the town to supplies that is busy is and understatement. He trains children and young people of all ages and the club is open all day and evening every body in the community knows about the club. When I arrived the youngest age group putting training and listen to Mr Millan drilling into them, the importance of healthy eating and the parents Many of them were next door in the weight training room, working out after dropping their children off at the club. The enthusiasm from Sam, the parents and the youngsters was just so fantastic to see. Although that may be hard to hear for my fellow parliamentarians, the brutal reality is that the members of that club will not listen to any advice that we might want to give from this chamber, but they will listen with complete attention to Mr Mullen because he and his trainee coaches are speaking directly to the members' enthusiasm and aspirations. In those times when we hear about children's increasing inactivity, obesity and poor mental health, we need to recognise local champions in local communities and the impact that they are having that quite frankly we as a parliament cannot begin to replicate. The third sector and the volunteer sector are by far the best-placed organisations to create a feeling of community and inclusivity through activity. We cannot impose solutions. What we can and should be doing is supporting our sports governing bodies and councils who, in turn, ensure local community initiatives such as Doon Valley Boxing Club, are properly resourced and financed, opening up opportunities and choice irrespective of background or personal circumstances. Kids want to participate but can only do so if the opportunities are there for them. The sense of community pride, parental pride and personal pride from the members is there for all to see, and that collective pride speaks to the health and wellbeing of that community. If we are serious about tackling the rise in inactivity, increasing health inequality, the widening attainment gap and the rising poor mental health, if we are serious about tackling the obesity crisis, the rise in type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal conditions, heart and lung conditions, then we need to look no further than the example being set by Doon Valley Boxing Club. In my view, sport is consistently undervalued and underfunded in this country. £34 million is the budget that Sports Scotland has been working with, representing one in five of the population who are members of sports clubs across all sports. What other portfolio delivers to so many of our nation with such a small budget? The sports governing bodies are being ever more stretched to deliver world-class sports opportunities through the club system, a system that is the lifeblood of Scottish sport and so off from the centre of community activity. We should not forget what the medical profession continually tells us, that inclusivity, physical and mental activity are a major solution for treatment and prevention of poor mental health. Not only for participants, but also for the army of coaches, officials and administrators that tirelessly keep the club system alive. I hope that the budget statement next week recognises the crucial part that sport plays in our nation's health and wellbeing, as well as its ability to build that important sense of community. We should also recognise the long-term positive impact on the health budget, on education, welfare and social behaviour. With the aspiration and perspiration of their youngsters, the joy of participation, getting fit, learning movement skills, developing self-awareness, self-control and confidence, all of which are eminently transferable skills, what doon valley boxing clubs so abily demonstrates is what is possible when the will is there. My favourite quote comes from Henry Ford when he said, believe you can or believe you can't and you will probably be right. Sam Mullin, his training staff, the parents and the community of Dunmellanton certainly believe they could. What they have achieved and continue to achieve for the local community is a shining example of what is possible. We need to seek out, recognise and support all the Sam Mullins, all the Dun valley boxing clubs in every community around the country who give so much of their time to help others. I wish them every success in the future and I promise I will see you for another session if you just give me a little bit of time to get a bit fitter. Thank you very much. Colin Fulton MacGregor, before by John Scott. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to Brian Whittle for bringing this debate to the chamber and giving me the opportunity to speak on it. I am also, I should say, well done to Dun valley boxing club and being recognised by Brian Whittle in the chamber. I am not going to stand here and pretend to be any expert on boxing, but when I seen the debate on the agenda, I felt that I had to take the opportunity. As my constituency of Coatbridge and Creson, particularly the Coatbridge part, has a very rich history in boxing, and people may know that Ricky Burns, the current world number one, WBA super lightweight title and WBO super featherweight title and WBO lightweight title is from Coatbridge. He is the first person from Scotland to hold three world titles, something that we in Coatbridge are all very proud of. Of course, this month he won the Scottish Sport Inspirational Performance Award. Mainly, I would like to take this four minute opportunity to talk about a place that helped to produce Ricky Burns. A place very similar by the sounds of it to the Dun valley boxing club and that is the Bannon fitness boxing club in Coatbridge. Rab Bannon is a well-known face in Coatbridge. He has put 40 years of his life into the barren ABC boxing club with his family including Peter and Chris. He has put a lot of time into the local people of Coatbridge. He is recognised by parliamentarians, councillors, police officers and the community at large as a positive influence on generations of young people in the area. He is well respected and loved by the people of the town and, as I have said, has produced greats including Lawrence Murphy and, of course, as I have said, Ricky Burns. The club, like the sounds of it to Dun valley, is an example of how a poor community can come together and better itself. With only the financial support of an annual community grant to pay for its rent and small membership fees, it puts everything it has straight back into the club. At its heart it offers an alternative to the life of alcohol, drugs, vandalism and the culture of unemployment. The club teaches discipline, life skills, positive mental and physical health and it can give the most vulnerable in society and identity and sense of purpose in a place in the community and it can, as has been seen by the couple of examples I gave, change lives quite dramatically. The club itself has a wide range of participants, 5 to 11-year-olds, boys and girls, teenagers and adults and probably is working with an operation of about 50 or 60 active members at the moment but more than that is the community engagement. In the last year alone I have attended two events that the club have put on at their base at the Langloin Health Centre and Fitness Centre where they have brought community together. Kids events including face painting, football games, they had a Rangers vs Celtic game on the big pitch and all of this was to one, bring the community together but secondly to raise a phenomenal amount of money for charities, SANS and Coliatus and in through doing that brought the community together fantastic days, both days were absolutely mobbed. Rabban yn ymlaen i'r wych yn ddechrau i'r wych i'r wych, where he was awarded just very recently with the BBC Get Inspired on some hero award in November 2015 and I'd like to finish just by saying that the boxing club is a great example of community engagement in the Coatbridge and Christon area and it gives an example of Coatbridge boy done good in Ricky Burns and how lives can be changed by such community involvement and selfless dedicated volunteers giving themselves to the community for most of their life. I'll finish on that. John Scott, followed by Colin Smyth. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I begin by congratulating Brian Whittle on securing this great today on the Doon Valley boxing club and support what he said by way of commendation about the club? I also apologise to the chamber for having to leave after speaking to meet with constituents. Presiding Officer, the Doon Valley boxing club is a club that attracts members, male and female, from across Ayrshire, is recognition and an achievement in itself. That the club attracts people from across south-west Scotland prepared to make the 110-mile round trip from Stranraer and elsewhere is little short of extraordinary and should be a source of pride to the club officials. While I don't believe I know Sam Mullen, his reputation travels before him and, from all that I've read about him, he's obviously at the driving force behind the club's success. Success does not come easily in Dmellentyn, traditionally an Ayrshire mining village in the Doon Valley where life was hard and for real every day for that mining and rural community. Close to partner, a similar village where boys became men very quickly employment historically was either down the pits or on the farms. Little difference historically, both types of work being usually at best backbreaking the major difference being one was above the ground and the other in the open air, below the ground. Barhill where I grew up was a village not unlike Dmellentyn but without the coal. So when Doon Valley Amateur boxing club started in Dmellentyn 13 years ago, it did so in a post mining area but where life nonetheless was and remains hard. Opencast pits have come and gone replacing traditional mining in East Ayrshire and while some remain communities of Bellsbank, Logan, Cumnock, New Cumnock, Rankeston, Drongan and Dalympel to name but a few have a tradition of extracting a hard fought living from an at best difficult environment and sometimes a downright dangerous and hostile one. But the Doon Valley boxing club offers hope so Little Wonder the Doon Valley boxing club has prospered in its 13 years of existence. Little Wonder the club has so engaged with the wider Ayrshire community and Little Wonder that it has been so successful. Success, of course, can be measured in several ways. Firstly, let us acknowledge that this Dmellentyn boxing club has produced a youth commonwealth bronze medalist, a very real achievement and Brian Whittle, of all people, knows how hard it is to do this with or without footwear. Then the club has also brought forward 30 young Scottish and six British champions too in the past and most recently we have a new group of talented young people as reported by Mike Wilson in the daily record in February of this year when a gold medal was won by Donnie McPike in the Scottish intermediate championship at Ravenscrag. Silvers went to Keegan Maguire, Rhys Mitchell and Alan McGarvey and they were coached by Sam Mullin and David MacKinnon. Those current successes tell us that the club is in good heart, that its proud 13-year history is not just being maintained but built upon, that its future is secure and that it and clubs like it across the Ayrshire will continue into the future, that Alex and Caroline Payton, who are sponsors of this club and whose fathers and grandfathers I know and knew have supported wisely a club that embodies a gritty determination to succeed against the odds and that improves the life chances of its members. Clubs like the Doon Valley Boxing Club are a good example of what sports clubs across Scotland can do and achieve in terms of character building and development even in this internet age. They also demonstrate again the value of inspired leadership and role models for these boys and girls to follow. Sam Mullin has provided that and is now supported by David MacKinnon and Brian McCubbin. I congratulate them on their achievement and wish them well in the future. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Colin Smyth to be followed by Rachael Hamilton. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I echo the congratulations to Brian Whittle for bringing this motion before Parliament today? I am providing members with the opportunity to celebrate the outstanding work that community sports clubs do in their constituencies and regions. I recently had the pleasure of visiting Witlitz activity centre in here with Mr Whittle who kindly asked me to be part of the MSP team in a power chair football match along with John Scott against the South Ayrshire Tigers. I won't tell members what the result was but let's just say that Mr Whittle won't be repeating his European Commonwealth Olympic track success in the sport of power chair football and John Scott and I won't be giving up our day job soon. Judging by Mr Whittle's photos on Twitter of him lying flat and he's back in the ring at Doon Valley Boxing Club, he probably won't be taking up boxing any time soon either. However, when we met with the players and coaches at South Ayrshire Tigers and as we've heard today when Mr Whittle met with the coach Sam Mullen and the kids at Doon Valley Boxing Club, it showed that the work that community sports clubs do really is truly inspirational. The boxing club in Delmellenton may be small in size and numbers, but it's clear that it's punching well above its weight. The club's vision is to use their sport to quote change people's lives, to improve communities and change a nation. As the motion before us today highlights, that is exactly what sports clubs across our communities do. Sports clubs teach us incredibly important lessons about life, about the joy of triumph but also about learning to be resilient when we lose and to lose with grace, a bit like politics I suppose. They also provide a platform for so many fantastic volunteers to contribute to their local areas. They help young people do well at school. They bring communities together with shared goals, strengthening local networks, reinforcing a sense of place and diverting young people away from crime. Of course, they give a positive opportunity for young people to improve their physical and mental health, which has never been more important than it is today. Since being elected to this Parliament it may have had the privilege of being Labour spokesperson on public health and social care and serving on the health and sport committee. This week, the committee held a round-table discussion and probably the most pressing public health issue facing Scotland today, that of obesity. Two thirds of Scotland's adults are now classed as being overweight and, shamefully, almost a third of children are at risk of becoming overweight, with children in Scotland more likely to be overweight than in any other part of the UK. As I raised at the health committee this week, there is a clear link between obesity and deprivation, particularly among women and children. A quarter of children aged 4 to 5 from the most deprived areas are at risk of being overweight, compared to around 18 per cent of children from the least deprived areas. What does that mean for our nation's health? We know that obesity contributes to a whole number of health issues. Type 2 diabetes, stroke, cancer, depression and anxiety, liver disease, osteoarthritis and back pain, asthma, reproductive complications and sleep apnea. In fact, obesity reduces life expectancy by an average of three years and severe obesity by between eight and ten years. But obesity does not just have an impact on our health. It is associated with worse employment outcomes and is a source of unacceptable discrimination for applicants in the workplace. It also impacts on our public finances. Estimates by the Scottish Government in 2007-08 suggested that overweight and obesity combined were responsible for healthcare costs of £312 million. That is more than £350 million at today's prices. Clearly, while dealing with diet and calorie intake is the most effective way to tackle obesity, physical exercise is also crucial. That is why our sports clubs are so important to our nation's health and wellbeing. I welcome the opportunity today to debate this issue and to place on record my support for sports clubs across the south of Scotland and beyond, in particular to say thank you to the army of volunteers that make them happen. As Brian Whittle said earlier, we can do more than just express our support. We can provide practical help as well. I was elected to this Parliament on a manifesto that included using the Barnett consequentials raised from the so-called sugar tax to invest £40 million into after-school sports clubs. That is a positive measure that I will continue to pursue so that our sports clubs can continue to do their outstanding work in all of our communities. I am delighted to be speaking in Brian Whittle's sport-themed debate today. I know from speaking to Mr Whittle that Doon Valley boxing club packs a punch in the small village of Dalmellington in Ayrshire. Since 2003, the club has produced 30 national champions, six British champions and a youth Commonwealth bronze medalist. The recognition received by clubs like these by individuals is undoubtedly deserved. The contribution that all coaches, officials and volunteers make across the country is truly exceptional and must not go unnoticed. This debate is testament to the hard work that goes into running sports clubs like Doon Valley boxing club. Let's take a closer look at the work of Sam Mullan, who established the boxing club. Sam opened the community gym after an injury forced him to retire. There are many ways to give back to your community and one is to volunteer in sport. Without the generosity from volunteers, these clubs simply couldn't operate. It's volunteers like Sam and his team that helped create the next generation of sporting stars. I myself am a volunteer netball coach and I would encourage everyone to get involved. It's very rewarding. Crucial to the continuing success of boxing across Scotland is boxing Scotland. It does great work throughout Scotland and continues to make boxing accessible and develop the sport. We all have the opportunity to reach their potential and work to create a strong boxing community. My colleague Brian Whittle briefly entered that community when he visited Doon Valley boxing club. Other than Colin Smith, I'm not sure if members were privy to the photographs of Brian Whittle visiting the boxing club. Brian, of course, is a decorated athlete himself and competed with the world's best. However, when he went pound to pound in this instance, his opponent at Doon Valley club had the upper hand, showing that Brian is just a lightweight. On Sunday, I watched a programme called Fern Britain Meets. Fern met boxing legend and two-time world champion Nigel Ben. He spoke about his glittering career but also shared his more troubled personal journey. Ben was a difficult teenager and a worry to his family. At 17, he was persuaded to join the British Army where he became a first-class boxing, professional in 1987. Nicknamed the Dark Destroyer for his formidable punching power and aggressive fighting style, he won many titles and is ranked by Boxwreck as the fourth best British super middleweight boxer of all time. His success demonstrates that activity and sport can turn lives around positively. Yesterday, I had a tweeting session with Josh Taylor, a professional boxer from Preston Pans in East Lothian. Josh was part of the Olympic boxing team in London. He also won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and turned professional in 2015. When he first started boxing at age 15, there were no boxing facilities in East Lothian. So he travelled here to Edinburgh. He told me that through his boxing he learned discipline and respect, which kept him out of trouble. He said, quote, boxing is great for that. One of the Dune Valley club members at the People at Air Academy, the young lad with boxing talent called Donnie McPike, he is coached at Dune by Sam Mullen, who, as we have said, has built an outstanding record of turning out champions over the years. Apparently, Donnie eats, sleeps and breathes boxing and wants to get right to the top of his game. This dedication to sport has seen him win a domestic treble, the Scottish Intermediate Championships, Western District Championships and, for the second year in a row, the Scottish title. The Dune Valley club has a great role to achieve that. Those accolades highlight not only his talent, but also the value of the Dune Valley boxing club in the area. The boxing club facilitated Donnie's talent to grow and develop. That highlights the crucial role that those clubs play in the development of young sporting lives, providing an environment of encouragement and opportunity. Presiding Officer, I would like to once thank Brian Whittle for bringing this debate forward, for the work of the boxing club in Donnie Valley and to pay tribute to all those volunteers in all sports across Scotland that do so much for their respective clubs. Thank you, Ilein Campbell Minister, to wind up. I would like to thank Brian Whittle for raising the motion and for the contributions that we have heard from all parties and everyone this afternoon. We have heard today of the fantastic record of this small club, which is certainly and literally punching above its weight. I would like to add my thanks to the coaches and the volunteers who help to keep the club running. In particular, Sam Mullen, who sounds like a truly inspirational character, and I certainly would be keen to meet with him or to visit. Try my own right hook, perhaps, or maybe something I shouldn't do. It might be a wee bit different from the regular bouts that we experience in this chamber, but certainly if time permits and there's opportunity arises, to meet with the club. I don't think that it's an uncomfortable issue for us as parliamentarians to hear that messages delivered through others, such as about healthy eating, discipline and activity, are more keenly heard when they're delivered through sportsmen and women. That's the reach that I know that sport has and it's that potential that I know that we must harness to transform lives. It's through projects like what we've heard described as happening in Dalmellighton or through whatever club is familiar to all the members across the chamber, or indeed my own constituency of bigger rugby club, which I'm a member of, which has delivered phenomenal results for many people across rural Lanarkshire or even through projects like the Government's support through football fans and training which engages people, builds on community assets and empowers people to take control of their own lives. Because when we use sport to harness that's when we see improvement and results and on those results that we know and the challenges that we know Scotland faces and this helps to reverse some of those unfortunate trends around sedentary lifestyles in Scotland. Because sport and physical activity have been proven to improve both physical and mental health being active has many health and social and economic benefits and reduces the risk of over 25 chronic conditions. It's also estimated that physical inactivity in Scotland results in around 2,500 premature deaths and costs our NHS around £94.1 million annually and the tragedy of that is that often times these things are preventable. In terms of looking at what opportunities we have to provide for children, creating a culture in which healthy behaviour are the norm starts in the early years so that children and young people develop a life-long habit of activity, research shows that it is vitally important that children are active before they reach school age and this can be through active play which not only improves co-ordination but also social skills with peers with siblings, parents and grandparents and nursery workers and that was why we in part developed a play strategy which I think flows seamlessly into the work that we're doing in later years. Because once a child reaches school age and through investment by this Government, 98% of schools now provide their pupils with two hours or two periods of physical education per week arise from less than 10% in 2004-5. But we can't be complacent and we'll continue to support Scotland, Education Scotland and Scottish local authorities to maintain and improve the quality of PE provision and position within the Government's overarching aims around raising attainment. Outside of school hours children can access the active schools programme since 2007. Sport Scotland invested over 80 million in the active schools programme and will invest up to 50 million over the period 2015-19 across all 32 local authorities. As a result, during the school session 2015-16, school pupils across Scotland made 6.5 million visits to active school sport and physical activity sessions, a record high number which has a 7% increase on the previous 12 months. Figures also show that during that same academic year the number of activity sessions offers increased by 5% to 350,000 with a range of over 100 different sports and activities on offer. Of course, we've seen an increase in the number of people delivering those sessions with 19,000 of those being volunteers. The active schools programme also provides a helpful pathway into club sport to encourage children to continue with their sporting activities once they leave school. That's a great foundation that we must build on if we want to see inroads made into active activity levels across our country. One of the lasting legacies of the 2014 games is the development of community sports hubs. Scotland can now boast of having 157 of those hubs which brings together local clubs to work together in the way that best suits local circumstances with many of those hubs based in local schools. Sports Scotland has also announced a further 6 million investment to create a total of 200 hubs by 2020 and perhaps Colin Smyth might be interested to know that my letter of direction to Sports Scotland is also around looking in ways in which we can enhance that provision in areas of deprivation. It's important that we remember that Scotland's sedentary lifestyle is about more than just sport, it's about activity more generally and that's why our support first paths for all and our dedication to walking through our national strategy has seen an increase of 5% in free of charge activity. We're also investing in active travel and also through the spirit of 2012 we're investing in collecting data about work what works in getting our inactive population active and yesterday I was impressed by the work that's happening in Edinburgh leisure which is truly targeting and going in to engage with the community about trying to figure out what they need to do differently in order to engage their inactive population active and that's across all ages. Miles Briggs To the different groups which the ministers highlighted during this debate, one group which I think all of us are aware of are Jogges Scotland who are trying to do exactly what the ministers outlined these other groups are doing they've now seen all their funding cut can the minister take forward a review of that to see if we can see how they can also provide this physical exercise that they're going to have to scale back on. Always looking to see what ways we can improve on situations I certainly know that the work that Jogges Scotland continues to do as well is recognised and is appreciated but also I think we need to look at the whole picture and that's why we're investing in things like paths for all to encourage people to take up that free of charge activity and making sure that we celebrate the fact that a 5% increase in walking across Scotland doesn't happen by accident but that's through the investment and through the dedication and the focus that we've had through our national walking strategy. But as others have said sport for change the ability that sport has to reach into our communities to transform lives to engage with people and to help the Government more generally tackle issues around inequality around health and wellbeing about employability all of those things have a reach which sport can help with and help us transform lives and transform our communities and that's why it's important that we continue to have a focus and continue to understand that reach more generally and that's why through working with the Scottish governing bodies we're continuing to work with them to see if they can have more rigor and robustness around the figures which they have so that we can truly tell that story much more powerfully across our country. So in summing up the phenomenal reach that we need to harness and we need to use that reach to transform lives and I'd like to take the opportunity to congratulate everybody involved at Doon Valley boxing club for the work that they're doing to transform lives in their local area and like others have said already I'd like to pay tribute to the volunteers who are providing opportunity and happy memories for children and young people right across our nation. Thank you. That concludes our debate and I now suspend Parliament until 2.30.