Opinion
In its search for votes, one of the Government's favourite tactics is to announce an eye-catching initiative and then turn round to local councils and say "and by the way, we want you to try and pay for it".
This is exactly what the Government has done with its free-swimming initiative, just as it has also done with free concessionary bus-passes. When the details of the free-swimming scheme emerged, it turned out that in B&NES the cost of over-60s swimming was twice that which the Government was offering, while the cost for under-16s swimming was three times what the Government was willing to fund. Yet because of the Government's bizarre funding calculations, some local authorities which don't even operate any swimming pools were offered money for the initiative.
Local Conservatives support the principles behind free under-16s swimming. However, while the Council has worked with the Primary Care Trust in order to plug the funding gap and introduce over-60s free swimming, the shortfall for free under-16s swimming simply proved too great.
Labour Councillor John Bull has been critical of the Conservatives for not introducing free swimming for under-16s in Bath and North East Somerset. But neither Cllr Bull nor his Labour colleagues have been able to identify how to plug the funding gap to pay for the scheme.
With the Government also under-funding concessionary bus passes by over £1 million, and withholding £2.3 million in grant allocation, I would ask Councillor Bull and his Labour colleagues to help the Conservatives lobby the Government to stop short-changing B&NES residents and properly fund its initiatives.
Yours,
Cllr Terry Gazzard (Con),
B&NES Cabinet Member in charge of Leisure
This is exactly what the Government has done with its free-swimming initiative, just as it has also done with free concessionary bus-passes. When the details of the free-swimming scheme emerged, it turned out that in B&NES the cost of over-60s swimming was twice that which the Government was offering, while the cost for under-16s swimming was three times what the Government was willing to fund. Yet because of the Government's bizarre funding calculations, some local authorities which don't even operate any swimming pools were offered money for the initiative.
Local Conservatives support the principles behind free under-16s swimming. However, while the Council has worked with the Primary Care Trust in order to plug the funding gap and introduce over-60s free swimming, the shortfall for free under-16s swimming simply proved too great.
Labour Councillor John Bull has been critical of the Conservatives for not introducing free swimming for under-16s in Bath and North East Somerset. But neither Cllr Bull nor his Labour colleagues have been able to identify how to plug the funding gap to pay for the scheme.
With the Government also under-funding concessionary bus passes by over £1 million, and withholding £2.3 million in grant allocation, I would ask Councillor Bull and his Labour colleagues to help the Conservatives lobby the Government to stop short-changing B&NES residents and properly fund its initiatives.
Yours,
Cllr Terry Gazzard (Con),
B&NES Cabinet Member in charge of Leisure