 Ni favoredau ei certainly gw :) Ysgrifennio aethion wedi dweud yn y cynllun ar gynnwys y dyfodol Newt constituency 선olm bwys suggester is Quelladwr, It gives me great pleasure to open tonight's members' debate in support of the Scottish Sports Association and retaining the crucial funding for the important role that that group plays. I thank all the members who have signed up to support the motion, including party leaders Richard Leonard, Patrick Harvie, Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie, all Labour MSPs, all Green MSPs, all Libde MSPs and the vast majority of Conservative MSPs. That shows you the gravity with which people take that very important issue. I have to say that it is a matter of real regret for me that I am having to bring this debate forward. The Scottish Sports Association are well respected in the work that they do, not just in the Parliament but clearly out in the community and the networks that they have built up through the bodies that they represent. That is also reinforced following on from the very consensual debate that we had last week to celebrate the European Championships being held in Glasgow in support venues throughout the country next year. Do you remember that in that debate there was a lot of agreement around the importance of building a legacy around the 2018 Games, increasing participation in sports and giving real profile to our sports participants and the different sports that are involved in those games? It seems therefore a really bizarre decision that, when you have so many aspects that you want to support in 2018 Games, you will cut off a major strand in terms of the organisations that will support that work. I really have to say that I do not understand the Government's decision. If you look at the work that the Scottish Sports Association does, there are three important strands to that work. First of all, it is an independent representative body. You look at that and represent 900,000 members of sports clubs throughout Scotland, 13,000 clubs in total and that also encompasses 195,000 volunteers. Through that, they play an important role in representing those groups and individuals. It is a key link to the Scottish Government with work with 13 different departments of the Scottish Government and two new recent requests for work. As I said, they are an independent body and that representation demonstrates itself in the policy aspect of the group's work. At the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections, they produced, as they did previously in 2011, a manifesto for sport that was broadly supported throughout all the parties in the Parliament. 92 per cent of uptake for the ideas in that manifesto showed the breadth of policy commitment that was there and commitment from the political parties. The group has strong links to the Government and the Parliament. I have been very successful in influencing some of those agendas. They regularly make representations to the various committees of the Parliament. For example, over a number of budgets, they have made the point that it is important to retain the sports budget, not just for the successful enjoyment and participation of people who participate individually in sports and sports clubs, but also the knock-on effect across other portfolios for which the Scottish Government is responsible. As we spoke about a lot last week, people participating in sport will improve the overall health of the nation, and that will help to ensure that we do not have to divert as many resources to, for example, the health budget. We have also recently been involved in advocating the increased use of access in schools. The third strand that I would point out is that, in terms of the work that they do and encouraging volunteers in sport, there are 195,000 volunteers throughout Scottish sport. If we are going to achieve the sort of things that we spoke about in terms of Glasgow next year, we need a very strong support network. The Scottish Sports Association has been absolutely key in building that up. As I said at the start, I simply do not understand this decision. Aileen Campbell is a very reasonable MSP and a reasonable minister. However, I think that this decision is completely unreasonable. When you look at the amount of money that is involved here, there is £70,000 to be cut off or moved into sport Scotland. It is a very small amount of money. I cannot understand the logic in terms of efficiencies. Even if you want to look at the case and look at the work that the Scottish Sports Association does around pensions for some of the member's groups, they have saved £105,000 in set-up costs and £13,000 across 33 different groups that have been involved in that. The minister herself is well aware of that. She spoke at the 2016 AGM in the cross-party group of sport and endorsed the importance of the Scottish Sports Association and the work that we are doing. I really think that there needs to be a rethink on that because otherwise we will lose that independent voice, we will lose the representation, we will lose the quality work that the Scottish Sports Association carries out, the links into the Scottish Government and the committees of this Parliament. I say very seriously to the minister that there needs to be a rethink on that decision. It is completely the wrong decision in terms of support for sport in that organisation. It drains away a key leg of the representative sports body. The minister needs to think again, needs to talk to those who have lobbied her in support of the Scottish Sports Association, look at the case and take that off the table because it is completely the wrong decision. Thank you very much, Mr Kelly. Open debate, speeches of four minutes, Liz Smith, followed by Anna Sarwar. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I'm very grateful indeed to James Kelly for bringing this debate to the Parliament for what he has just said, and I would concur that this is a very pressing issue right as we speak just now. I want, if I may, to make my contribution this evening as one of the co-conveners of the cross-party group on sport. Alison Johnson, who I know will make a contribution shortly, both of us have had first-hand knowledge of the role of the Scottish Sports Association, not just in terms of the very significant assistance to the secretarial work of that cross-party group, but also in promoting Scottish sport. I know that our predecessor, Margaret McDonald, would have said exactly the same thing, and so it is with very considerable dismay that we learned about the proposed withdrawal of investment funding for the SSA by both the Scottish Government and Sport Scotland, no matter which. As conveners, we will discuss in detail with the minister next week. Following the royal charter of 1982, which established Sport Scotland, the SSA came into being. It has been a very strong and effective voice that has helped to shape and enhance the policy and practice of Scottish sport and champion the views and contributions of its members. I believe that the SSA fulfills a unique and vital niche and, as such, it provides exceptional value for money, both in terms of the governing body membership of its organisations and for the public purse through its small but highly dedicated team led so ably by Kim Atkinson. As members will be well aware, there is cross-party support across this chamber for getting the nation to be more active, both for its own sake, but also to achieve the policy objectives of improving the nation's physical and mental health. It is very much the right focus. The largest delivery mechanism for sport and physical activity is through community sports clubs, coaches and volunteers, whose voice and views are uniquely and independently conveyed through the SSA. Sport should be a powerful tool in the fight against deep-rooted health inequalities and supporting community networks. In 2014, the Scottish Government published its Active Scotland Outcomes Framework, which includes, among other policy outcomes, improving our active infrastructure, supporting wellbeing and resilience in communities through physical activity and sport, and improving opportunities to participate, progress and achieve in sport. It is difficult to see how such outcomes will be achieved by withdrawing funding to the SSA. It would also run contrary to previous statements made by the First Minister about the vital importance of the voluntary sector in helping to develop and better implement policy by working together with Government. It seems inconceivable, just as James Kelly has said, that the Scottish Government would not wish to have an independent representative body to help aid that collaboration, prioritisation and to help to develop and implement policy, while also providing support to and representation for members' interests to Government and national agencies. The Scottish Government has rightly outlined the importance of sport in relation to the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the nation. However, the threats that are posed to sport, including through the recommendations of the Barclay review and business rates, to ensure even greater recognition for the SSA. Without that SSA, the voice of voluntary sector sport in Scotland would, in my view, be severely diminished, perhaps even lost. There would be no independent and collective voice for the 50 Scottish governing bodies. I have to say that they very regularly attend the cross-party group in great number in this Parliament, and there are 13,000 sports clubs and 900,000 sports club members. As one of the co-conveners of the cross-party group on sport, I know at first hand the significant contribution the SSA has made to both the work of the Scottish Parliament and to the Scottish Government, and a view that, as I mentioned before, was deeply shared by our predecessor, Morgan MacDonald. At SSA receptions and exhibitions, there is always a very strong attendance, including with many people who are MSPs, their staff, but also with sports professionals. I join in my call, along with James Kelly, that there does need to be a rethink about this. Sport, after all, is about our volunteers. It is about our grass roots. We cannot have elite sport without those foundations, and that is why we need to have a rethink. I am pleased to speak in support of my colleague James Kelly's motion today. Last week, this chamber, members spoke at length, including the minister herself, about the positive impact of sports and physical activity on people's lives. Of the potential positive impact the European Championships could have on Scotland's sports participation. This week, James Kelly's motion and debate go to the very heart of the behaviour of this Government. Warm words one week, cuts the next. This Government likes to talk up all that it is doing to support and promote active and healthy lifestyle, but when it comes to putting its money where its mouth is, I fear that it may fall short. I hope that the minister today, when she responds, will pay more than lip service to the concerns that are being raised. The Scottish Sports Association is a unique organisation in that it is the only umbrella body covering sport and speaking up for the role sport and physical activity can play in addressing some of the very serious challenges that we face as a country. Fifty Scottish governing bodies are sport, 13,000 sports clubs, 195,000 volunteers, 900,000 sports club members, the SSA, an independent voice for every single one of them. It speaks up not just for the bigger sports, but also for the smaller sports whose voice might be lost without the support of the SSA. Its aims are clear—more opportunities for sport and physical activity to grow, increased opportunities for people to participate and greater emphasis on sports development. Aims, I hope, everyone across the chamber can agree with. It does this work with the support of those who represent almost 100 per cent membership retention. 98 per cent membership retention to the SSA shows how effective an organisation is, with high levels of satisfaction, efficiency and efficacy. Quite simply, there is no other independent voice for sport that does the work that the SSA does. That is why the Scottish Government, either directly or through its agency Sport Scotland, should provide direct funding. Frankly, I do not know why the Scottish Government has made that decision. It feels able to fund the SSA directly, which is the right thing to do, but not the SSA, despite the fact that sport is the largest single part of Scotland's voluntary sector. This debate, just a week after we discussed last week the European Championships in Glasgow, which was the aim of which is to deliver increased participation in sport. James Kelly, who himself is a reasonable MSP and a reasonable finance spokesperson, played for the reasonable MSP and minister for the Government. I hope that the minister, when she does respond, can tell us positively how she can find what is actually a very small fund in the grand scheme of things to help to deliver a sustainable future for the SSA. The minister promised the SSA and its members, at its AGM in 2016, that it would deliver on that promise. I hope that that does not become another broken promise. The minister said in the member that the Scottish Government directs its support for Scottish governing bodies through Sport Scotland. The Scottish Government website is also clear that it will use its third sector core budget—a budget of £24.5 million to support local and national third sector infrastructure. I am sure that we can find the £70,000 needed within that £24.5 million budget to support the SSA. I think that it is the right thing for the ministers to do. I think that it is the right thing for the Government to do. If we are serious about tackling inequality in our country, if we are serious about the link between health and wellbeing, health outcomes and the pressures on our NHS, especially at a time when we see a winter pressure on our NHS, then we must directly see the link between participation, sports participation, youth clubs, the voluntary sector and also the wider NHS budget. I hope that the Government can see that today and that the minister makes the right decision. Deputy Presiding Officer, I draw members' attention to my register of interests. In the beginning, I would like to thank James Kelly, a long-time member of the cross-party group on sport, for bringing the motion for debate this evening. I too wish that we were not having it. However, as we are, let us regard this as an opportunity to highlight the excellent work of this organisation and let us make sure that no one who hears this debate is in any doubt that the Scottish Sports Association is well worth funding. I sincerely hope that our contributions this evening lead to on-going support from the Government and or its agencies for the SSA. We need the independent and passionate voice of the Scottish Sports Association in a country where physical inactivity is as great health risk as smoking, where adults who are not considered overweight or obese are in the minority, we need to ensure that this independent voice can continue to be heard. In the run-up to the Holyrood elections of 2011, I was invited to meet the Scottish Sports Association outside of Parliament for a photo call, where I was given a vote for sport t-shirt and I pledged, if elected, to be a Scottish sporting champion. A role that is a great honour and privilege and a role, a different sort of role than one that would be undertaken by Sports Scotland, those two organisations can work together and complement one another. They are not in competition, they are not competing, we need them both. Meeting Kim Atkinson, the chief executive at Don, it felt like it, in the car park was only a taste of things to come. This organisation gets things done. If you would like guidance on how to truly champion sport, follow the small but mighty organisation in action. How many organisations with four staff would achieve 100 per cent support from prospective parliamentary candidates across the five parties represented in this Parliament? Its manifesto for Scottish sport, as we have heard, remains the only manifesto across Scottish sport and it received 92 per cent uptake of its key messages across all five party manifestos. That is an important point. You might consider that it would be inappropriate for sport Scotland as an agency of government to have a manifesto, so here is another area where the Sports Association's work is essential. That liaison with parties and with parliamentarians is hugely important. The SSA is very effective in bringing sport, politics and Parliament together. Learning from expert voices outwith the Government and the parliamentary bubble is hugely important. I appreciate that the minister will spend a great deal of time with sport Scotland officials in her work. I am regularly updated and contacted by the Sports Association on how issues such as the Barclay review and the Water and Sewerage review will impact on grass-roots clubs in Lothian and Scotland. As you have heard, I have the privilege of co-convening the cross-party group on sport. You can only imagine the strength of the contribution of our predecessor, Margot MacDonald, to this particular debate. On more than one occasion, this cross-party group has had to seek a bigger venue or turn people away because 100 or so people have registered to come along to hear the relevant, inspirational, sometimes expert, sometimes grass-roots speakers who are a regular feature of the cross-party group on sport. The Standards Committee monitors groups where external attendance or membership is low. The interest in the group is immense consistently and that is due in no small part to the contribution of the SSA and its first-class secretariat skills. It is testimony 2 to its contacts in that wider sporting world. Presiding Officer, the Scottish Government drafts a proposal regarding how public money should be spent in Scotland to deliver a wide range of outcomes. It is a huge responsibility and it is one that we debate passionately in this chamber. I am asking the Scottish Government to continue investing in the Scottish Sports Association, in the health of the Scottish people. It adds real value to sport in Scotland. Unlike sport Scotland, it is member-led, it is independent. It is not a weakness having two organisations advocating for sport. They are not in competition. They complement one another. Every pound that is spent on the work of the organisation is a pound well spent. James Kelly's most reasonable point among many reasonable points that he made was on money. If we had been debating £70 million, would the chamber have been so full? If we had been debating £7 million, would so many members from across Parliament have supported his parliamentary motion? We are debating £70,000. It is inconceivable to me that Government, especially given that it has found extra money, £2 million of extra money for the sport Scotland budget, cannot find some way to resolve that issue, given that strength of parliamentary support. The extremely sensible and learned and near reasonable arguments have been put by members of all parties. If the Scottish Sports Association was not here, we would certainly have to invent it. For the very same reasons that members have already suggested, it is independent. It cannot and does not do the same job as Sport Scotland, which is, after all, the Minister and the Government's sports agency. That is why it produces a sports manifesto, as Alison Johnstone rightly says. That is why it does the things across political parties on behalf of the governing bodies that makes it independent and makes it different. I, too, don that t-shirt. In the 2011 election, as a party leader, voted a sport, which, in that election, was a darn sight easier self and voted a dem. However, the important side of that is the work that it does across every political party and for the Government. The most striking side of the submission that Kim Atkinson and her colleagues made to members of all parties in order for this debate to take place today was on the work that she does for the Government, on the work that she does saying and helping the Government to devise better policies and volunteering, better approaches to the kind of initiatives that the Government wants to rightly take forward on obesity, on widening out sport into lifestyle choices and into making sure that their consultations are much more meaningful for the very reasons that Alison Johnstone, Liz Smith and James Kelly made in their outset, in their remarks. I think that there are a number of questions that the minister, I am sure, will want to respond to in the debate this afternoon. The first is, what is the rationale for cutting the funding? I do not understand what the rationale is, as opposed to just a financial, we are going to cut the budget argument. If it is that, I have every sympathy with the minister. I am sure that she would want to tell Parliament what that is. However, if there is a genuine sport rationale or a different rationale, then let us hear it and let us debate it. I am sure that when Liz Smith and Alison Johnstone, as the co-conveniers, meet the minister in due course, they will want to have that one out. The other side to it is if it is a non-budgety reason behind that proposed withdrawal of funding. I think that that is quite serious. For the simple reason that all the governing bodies and all the organisations that are part of the Scottish Sports Association's membership make their argument because of that independence, because of their ability to lobby government in different ways, where inevitably the pressures are considerable, particularly at this time, following the downturn in spending that is taking place quite inevitably after the common wealth game. It seems to me that that is an essential argument, an essential part of the response that the minister will want to make as to why the current position is not to fund the Scottish Sports Association in the way in which it has been funded in the past. What has it done wrong or what has changed from the organisation that we have supported over many years, and Government has supported rightly over many years, that is no longer the case. To lose this organisation means no independent and collective voice for sports, no independent networking groups, no collective responses to consultations. Those all seem pretty strong arguments for retaining it, no connection between sports and the rest of the voluntary sector. That is an essentially important argument for this, and no manifesto for Scottish sport, which would be a certainly severe loss, I think, to politics and to the good Government of Scotland. The Government, we think, would be very welcome indeed if the minister could find a way to announce that this afternoon that she would have my full support. Thank you very much, Mr Scott. I call Kezia Dugdale to be followed by Fulton McGregor. Ms Dugdale, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and can I, like others, congratulate James Kelly on securing this debate, although in fairness, thus far it has not really been a debate, it has been more of a rally. I think that it is quite striking that we have yet to hear from any SNP backbenchers, but there is time yet, Presiding Officer. As a matter of full disclosure, can I say from the offset that I have known Kim Atkinson, the chief executive officer of the Scottish Sports Association, for a ridiculous 15 or more years? She was the president of the Sports Union at Aberdeen when, myself, Alex Cole-Hamilton and Mark McDonald were all students there in the late nineties and early naughties. She has had a lifelong passion for advocating participation in sport, and she brings that passion into her professional capacity. I speak tonight not as her friend but as somebody who has been consistently impressed by the professional job that she does advocating for Scottish sport. I speak on behalf of the successes that the Scottish Sports Association has had over a number of years. The pledge that was mentioned already that party leaders signed ahead of the 2016 elections was signed by myself in a t-shirt. Alison Johnstone is on her occasion too, I am sure. The Asley Ainsley Centre in Edinburgh, and I will never forget that day, because it is the day that my right hook at football nearly took out a press photographer. You can watch that video online if you want a good laugh. I took the pledge that I took that day very seriously. I think that we all have signed in this chamber the pledge to champion Scottish sport seriously. On that basis, we have to do everything that we can to protect the future of the Scottish Sports Association. I also speak as an MSP for the Llorians in which 25 of the 50 Scottish governing bodies for sport are based. That matters to my constituents. Last week, although I did not take part in it, I listened to the cabinet secretary and the minister for sport speak in the European Championships debate, and consistently we heard the words legacy, grassroots, participation, active kids. Those are the bread and butter issues in work of the Scottish Sports Association. If you need proof of that pudding so to speak, you only need to look at the success that they have had around opening up access to the school estate to see what they get in response to their calls for action. They are members led and an independent voice for sport, and that has to be understood. That cannot be replicated by Sport Scotland simply by the nature that Sport Scotland is a Government agency. That is why the independence of the Scottish Sports Association is so important. I referred some of that from Tavish Scott, but here is what will miss if the funding disappears and the Scottish Sports Association no longer exists. There will be no independent and collective voice for sport. That means that we will see less participation and less engagement around the issues of sport in this place. There will be no independent networking groups or forums for sports governing bodies. There will be no collective responses to consultations, which means one of two things. It either means that our committees will receive almost 50 identical responses from the 50 different governing bodies, or we will receive none, and we will not hear the voice of sports in this place. The representative voice of sports governing bodies will be lost to key Scottish Government groups and Scottish Parliamentary committees. We have heard from Tavish Scott that, in the last year alone, 13 different pieces of work that the Scottish Sports Association and the Scottish Government are conducting together, in fact, since proposals to remove funding from the Scottish Sports Association have come forward, the Government has made a further two asks of their time to do work. The evidence that they make a difference is clear and it is there for everyone to see. Finally, it is clear based on James Kelly's opening remarks that, if there was a vote in this Parliament to remove funding from the Scottish Sports Association, the Government would lose it. It should listen carefully to what is being said tonight. It is a relatively small amount of money that makes a tremendous difference. Please, minister, revisit and rethink those plans. Thank you. I call Fulton MacGregor to be followed by Graham Simpson. Mr MacGregor. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thanks to James Kelly for bringing the motion to debate. I would also state that I am the parliamentary liaison officer to the health portfolio. I would also like to thank the Scottish Sports Association for the work that it does and the respect that it carries. I think that that has been mentioned by other speakers. I agree with many aspects of the motion and what James Kelly has said about people getting involved in health and sport and making the opportunities as available as possible. I think that that is important. Many of us here have spoken in many debates in the chamber about that. Although I did not speak last week, I was present here for the legacy of the common wealth games and the 2018 championships. I think that that is something that, as a parliament, we all agree on. Although there is a lot in the motion to commend, as I have said, I am often understanding that there is no Scottish Government core funding to withdraw, but in saying that, it is important to note, as others have said, that MSPs from all four other parties have signed the motion and, as other members have said, that the money involved would not appear in the grand scale of things to be an insurmountable amount. I am sure that the minister will take that on board. However, I would like to talk about the positive investment that has been made in 2017, the Scottish Government priority sports governing bodies, with an additional £2 million to target what is specifically on inequalities. In addition to that, the establishment of the £300,000 sports equality fund welcomed the establishment of the Women and Girls and Sport advisory board. I am sure that it is welcomed by everybody to increase female participation, and that is much to be proud of. I also agree with the issues around sport Scotland funding, particularly with the national lottery, which has been a crucial source of funding, and for other good causes as well. Johann Lamont All of this is very interesting, but it is not relevant. I wonder if there was a vote tomorrow to withdraw funding from the Scottish Sports Association, would you support that motion or oppose it? Before you proceed, I was beginning to wonder whether the member was straying. I am very lenient in members' debates, but I am straying too far from the motion, which really focuses on the Scottish Sports Association in its entirety. I respect that, Presiding Officer. I am not going to get into debate with Johann Lamont about how I would vote if there was a vote tomorrow. There is not a vote tomorrow, but we are discussing this in a member's debate, and I have made my position on that. In terms of the sport Scotland issue, Presiding Officer, it is mentioned in the debate, in the motion, and I was only reflecting the fact that the income to that has been cut through the national lottery as well. I think that that is something that we need to take on board, because that is something that is affecting the ability to provide full services such as in North Lanarkshire, disability sport, receive national lottery awards in the work that they do, and, for instance, I skate in my community of Colbridge. Also, I was thinking about when I was at the Christon secondary school recently, in the work that they are doing there, with Sport Scotland and others. It is going back to the point that all members have raised that we need to get more people, particularly kids, involved in sport. As people know, I also run the cross-party group in football, or the future of football in Scotland, and a lot of the organisations that are involved in that have committed to breaking down inequalities and barriers. We have been able to do presentations and look at how more women and girls have got involved in sport. I would like to ask the minister about getting people involved in sport and making the opportunities available. I have been contacted by quite a few constituents concerned about the possible closures at Ravenscraig, if they are athletics facilities, and I wonder if the minister will get involved in that and put pressure on any leisure to reverse any possible changes, because I think that the communities around Lanarkshire are deprived enough, and we do not need to lose those facilities as well. Thank you very much indeed. I was not going to take up too much of your time, but I have to respond to Fulton MacGregor's somewhat bizarre contribution this evening. The motion from the highly respected James Kelly is all about a cut in funding to the Scottish Sports Association. Unfortunately, Fulton MacGregor did not address that. He went off on a bizarre ramble talking about other funding pots. I acknowledge that the motion says that it will withdraw funding for the SSA from both the Government and Sport Scotland. I was talking about sport Scotland funding. What Fulton MacGregor did not say is whether he supports withdrawing the funding from the Scottish Sports Association or not. I cannot quite see the point of his contribution. I first came across the Scottish Sports Association some years ago, Deputy Presiding Officer, when I was a councillor in South Lanarkshire. I was also chairman of our party's councillors association, and they came along to basically inform councillors—I am sure that they have done it with all parties—about the value of sport. We have particularly talked about the value of sport in schools and opening up school estates so that people could use facilities in schools for nothing. I managed to get that set as a policy in South Lanarkshire. On the back of that, it was their inspiration that got me fired up about opening up school pitches across South Lanarkshire. It is thanks to them that we got that done. That is what they do. They are there to advocate for their members. They have a lot. We have heard already from James Kelly, Liz Smith, Alison Johnstone, Tavish Scott and Kezia Dugdale about the 50 sports governing bodies that they represent, 13,000 sports clubs and 195 volunteers. We should not forget the volunteering that goes on to deliver sport and 900,000 sports clubs members. They have an independent voice through the Scottish Sports Association. If you take that away, they do not have that. So what is this all about? Tavish Scott asked that question. He is absolutely right. What have they done wrong? What is behind this? It cannot simply be money. We are only talking about £70,000. It is a drop in the ocean. What is this about? Is it about power and control? Is it about the Scottish Government saying that we control sports Scotland, we fund sports Scotland? We do not want an independent voice for sport. Maybe that is what it is about. Perhaps the minister, however reasonable she may be, can address that point. The decision to remove £70,000 of funding is inexplicable. What we will lose is that independent voice for Scottish sport. When we want to get people into sport, we want to get people active, which will say we do. We need a body like this. The minister should stand up this afternoon and tell us that she is going to remove this decision and reverse it. I now call on the minister to close to the Government. Seven minutes there about minister. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to James Kelly for bringing the debate forward tonight. The Scottish Government has a strong relationship with the SSA, and we appreciate the support that it provides to Scottish sporting governing bodies. We absolutely recognise and respect the right of those Scottish governing bodies to come together under a representative body and acknowledge the value that some SGBs and members of the SSA attach to that collective voice role played by the SSA. In answer to previous parliamentary questions regarding the funding situation of the SSA, as I stated in my answers in the chamber, the SSA is a membership organisation, and it is for its membership to ultimately determine how best to fund and support the SSA to effectively promote the views of the sector. My commitment to sport is complete, backed with our financial intentions set out last month in the draft budget, where the Government committed to increase the funding for sports Scotland by £2 million. Through that, we will continue to invest in our communities, our clubs and schools, which will include a specific focus on equalities, ensuring that our world-class system is truly for everyone. We have also pledged to underwrite any potential shortfall in national lottery funding for sport Scotland of up to £3.4 million, which impacts on grass-shoot sport and the voluntary sector, which is both elements cited within the motion presented tonight for debate. That will help to provide certainty for the sport sector in the absence of action from the UK Government. That is a serious issue, and I welcome cross-parliamentary support in addressing it, even if, on this issue tonight, opinions may differ. Liz Smith, Hale and Campbell for Giving Way. Given what Alison Johnstone said about the importance of having both sport Scotland and the Scottish Sports Association, does the minister agree that there is a role for both and that, when it comes to the sports association, the most important thing that they represent is the independent advocate of the governing bodies? Absolutely. That is what I said in the start of my remarks, that we absolutely recognise and respect the right of governing bodies to come together under a representative body, providing that independent voice that many members tonight have articulated. We absolutely recognise that distinct role that sport Scotland plays as an agency of government. There has never been any lack of recognition of the role that the SSA plays and the independent voice that it provides, nor should it be shy away from the fact that sport Scotland provides a good service to promote sport across the country. I thank the minister for giving way, and given that there is a debate, I welcome her response to Liz Smith and would like to continue along those lines. Can she explain in very simple terms, having just announced that she is going to spend an additional £2 million on sport, why the Scottish Sports Association is going to see a reduction of £70,000? It does not add up. I am going to go on and talk about the funding that we have provided and the relationship that we have had from the SSA, but I have also heard a lot from members tonight about wanting and being very keen for us to drive forward participation. Some of that is done through sport Scotland, most of that is done through sport Scotland, whether that is through active skills co-ordination or community sports hubs. Many members mentioned legacy, and community sports hubs are a direct legacy that is driven forward by sport Scotland at our agency. I continue with my remarks. The Scottish Government draft budget, I believe, does make absolutely clear our commitment to sport and physical activity sector in Scotland in helping to improve the health of our nation. As part of that funding package, the Scottish Government provides significant funding to support governing bodies through our national agency for sport, Sport Scotland. What we do not do is that we do not provide core funding to the SSA. The Scottish Government does not provide core funding to the SSA, and for tonight's debate that is an important point to note. In financial year 2017-18, we provided funding for the SSA to carry out short-term projects. Firstly, an important audit that focused on assessing equalities within sporting governing bodies is important in our endeavour to create opportunities for all to enjoy sport. Secondly, work to highlight and celebrate the work of grass roots volunteers and coaches who provide so much opportunity for so many. We intend to continue working with the SSA on bespoke project work in the future in recognition of the role that they have and the work that they do. The debate this evening rightly highlights the various roles carried out by the SSA, including the administrative support that it currently provides to governing bodies, and I have truly valued the correspondence that I have received from those governing bodies who describe to me the support that they get. Sport Scotland is also committed and currently provides a significant complete... I have taken to... Taking to intervention is a matter for you, minister. You can have the time if you wish. Okay, I will take one from Mr Kelly. I thank the minister for taking the intervention. We have had five minutes and we have still not had any explanation as to why this decision has been taken to take £70,000 out of the funding stream and effectively cut the legs from the Scottish Sports Association. Can you maybe at least give us an explanation of the governance thinking? Minister, what I have talked about tonight is the fact that we do not deny that there is a role for the SSA or nor the right for our governing bodies to have an independent voice and that collective voice that the SSA provides, but we have never given core funding to the... We do not give core funding to the SSA and that is why we will continue to work with the SSA on bespoke projects where we know that they can add value. I think that that is the situation that we will continue to work with them and have given project funding in the past. I also want to make the point that the Sport Scotland are also committed and currently provide a significant amount of time, expertise and investment to help our governing bodies to deliver on their objectives. Through the partnership managers, Sport Scotland is working close and effective partnership with governing bodies and provides advice on governance and finance. That relationship is at a senior level with the governing body, including with the chief executive and board of directors. In addition, dependent on the nature of the sport, Sport Scotland has also named members of their school, community coaching and volunteering facilities, development and high performance teams assigned to each sport, providing access to expertise and services in those areas. Many have discussed and described the necessity of driving forward participation and legacy. That is absolutely the priority of this Government and what our agency is charged to do. It is Sport Scotland that co-ordinate active skills and it is also them that are fundamental to the community sports hubs that are a direct legacy of the commonwealth games. I again repeat that we absolutely respect the right of our sporting governing bodies to come together under a representative body and recognise that, whilst the SSA does not represent everyone in the sector, some members of the SSA value that collective voice of sporting bodies role played by the SSA. Mr Kelly's motion refers to the Government providing funds to other membership organisations in the voluntary sector and there are a number of membership organisations across the third sector in Scotland who have a funding relationship with the Government, either for specific project funding or to support some of their co-activity. There is also a significant number who do not. It is also important to recognise that there are a number of other representative bodies in the sporting world who work on behalf of other elements of the system, Sporta, Vocal, Salsc, who are not funded by the Scottish Government. As I mentioned earlier, the representation work carried out by the SSA has never been funded by the Government and we believe that it is for the membership to identify appropriate financial resources for the role that they wish to play on their behalf. As Minister for Public Health and Sport, I have met numerous governing bodies as groups and individuals and governing bodies will continue to do so. I intend to meet those who have written to me, as I always do, to listen, engage and have frank dialogue. I will be meeting with Liz Smith and Alison Johnstone in their roles as co-conveners of the cross-party group to discuss the situation and pay tribute to them for their continued interest in it. Work has been on-going between Scotland and the Government to encourage the SSA to move to a more sustainable funding model, and we will continue to work with the SSA on project work, as we have in the past. I will reiterate that I will continue to recognise the importance of the independent voice to our governing bodies. I again thank James Kelly for bringing forward this debate.