MARY Calls to reopen ‘vital’ baby classes
BY WEST SCOTLAND MSP MARY FEE
Football is our national game and, from professional to grassroots levels, it has been impacted heavily by the coronavirus pandemic.
The financial crisis facing all sports is a danger to the future of the national game.
Scottish Labour has called on the Scottish Government to launch an emergency fund to help grassroots football survive the pandemic.
The game faces grave danger unless financial support is made available and soon.
There are reports that grassroots football clubs are facing extinction, and this would impact local communities. Any fund should prioritise semi-professional and non-league clubs.
Teams like Renfrew Juniors, Johnstone Burgh and many more teams in Renfrewshire, are fine examples of community clubs.
They help bring through young players and give back to their communities.
These are the sorts of clubs that need financial support due to crowd absences and loss of matchday income impacting on income.
In Renfrewshire we are blessed to have many active sports clubs.
With the ice hockey seasons cancelled, teams like Paisley Pirates and Glasgow Clan should be supported to continue throughout the pandemic and beyond. Ice hockey is the most attended indoor sport in the UK, and I know how valued ice hockey is in Renfrewshire.
If we want to keep our sporting traditions and support active lifestyles, sports clubs need government support.
Baby and Toddler Classes Needed
There are no businesses that are immune to the coronavirus crisis. Recently baby and toddler classes and groups have raised concerns about the long- term viability of businesses and charities who run such classes.
Baby and toddler classes are crucial to the development of children, encouraging play and socialisation at a very young age.
They are often a lifeline for new mothers who also benefit from socialisation and learning different caring and therapeutic skills for their child.
Unfortunately, many of these businesses and charities are under threat due to the coronavirus restrictions.
I understand that the safety of families is paramount, however the restriction on baby and toddler classes is harsher than that of schools and some out of school activities.
Given that we don’t know how long the pandemic will last, there must be another way for baby and toddler classes to work for the sake of babies, mothers and business owners.
Challenge Poverty Week
Yesterday marked the start of Challenge Poverty week and Scottish Labour has called on the Scottish Government to make extra fund available to tackle fuel poverty this winter.
One in four households currently live in fuel poverty and with the more people working from home or staying at home more, there is a fear that more people will struggle of afford energy costs.
The Scottish Government can boost the Scottish Welfare Fund to prevent more people entering fuel poverty, which already blights far too many households.
Getting support to everyone who needs it must be a priority this winter. With the economy in crisis, joblessness rising and the pandemic once more gathering steam, it is incredible that the Scottish Government has decided to leave over half a billion pounds of funding unallocated.