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Aileen Campbell (South of Scotland) (SNP): I had not intended to speak in the debate but, having heard other speeches, I wanted to highlight some of the things that are going on in the rural parts of the South of Scotland. I congratulate Jamie Stone on securing the debate. In particular, I wish to highlight the international youth games in Lanarkshire. I hope that there will be a legacy and role for some rural parts of South Lanarkshire, which could benefit from the games when they take place in 2011. Rural South Lanarkshire and places further afield could also benefit, I hope, from any legacy to arise from the Commonwealth games, which Glasgow will hold in a few years' time. Some individuals in Clydesdale, in the South of Scotland region, have acted in a way that we should encourage. One chap in Lesmahagow who realised that there was no football coaching in the area, and who had a coaching badge, decided to set up some coaching there—and 60 kids from Lesmahagow showed up one night to play football. They used a local hall and facilities, and it was a success. He is even trying to encourage girls to play football—buying pink balls and using other innovative ways to encourage youngsters from the area to take up sport. That is the kind of initiative that we should encourage. We should encourage parents to take responsibility for encouraging their children to take part in sport. Biggar rugby club is working with parents to encourage folk from the area, including the small villages around Leadhills, to take part in the sport. The club has held youth championships, which have attracted rugby clubs from throughout the South of Scotland. People have shown up to take part and be taught how to play and how to display good sportsmanship. When parents take responsibility, they will travel far afield to enable their children to take part in sports. |
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Read more... [Athletes (Rural Areas)]
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S3M-05226 Aileen Campbell (South of Scotland) (Scottish National Party): All Wales Convention Report— That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the final report of the All Wales Convention; notes that the report calls for full legislative powers to be transferred from Westminster to the National Assembly for Wales in areas where the Welsh Assembly Government already has executive responsibility; further notes that implementation of these recommendations would be subject to endorsement by the people of Wales in a referendum, recommended to be held before the next National Assembly for Wales elections in 2011, and believes that a consensus exists in Wales both in favour of the convention’s proposals and in favour of a referendum as the correct and democratic method to bring about important constitutional change. |
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Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party) To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in taking forward the intention, announced at the Rural Gathering on 25 September 2009, to pursue transfer of the measure dealing with supporting community facilities from the Rural Priorities scheme to the LEADER programme and increase the potential LEADER intervention rate. The Scottish Government supports the LEADER approach of local projects determined by local decision making. In relation to the proposed change to the delivery mechanism for community facilities support to LEADER, Local Action Groups (LAGs) support the strategic direction but have made representations concerning certain practical issues. My immediate aim is to support applicants and potential applicants. As a transitional arrangement, to ensure continuity of support for delivery of community facilities, new applications should continue to be submitted through the Rural Priorities framework. Appropriate procedures for handling these applications are currently being worked up by officials. Applicants who have already submitted applications through Rural Priorities will not require to submit a fresh application. |
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Read more... [Rural Affairs]
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S3M-05201 Aileen Campbell (South of Scotland) (Scottish National Party): 2009 Trad Music Awards— That the Parliament notes that the 2009 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards ceremony will take place on 28 November 2009 at the DG One venue in Dumfries; recognises that the awards aim to showcase Scotland’s wonderful traditional music in all its forms and create a high-profile opportunity to raise media and public awareness of the music and music industry; further notes that the event has completely sold out, with an expected audience of 900 people, and wishes the wide range of talented artists and musicians shortlisted for awards the very best of luck. |
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Aileen Campbell (South of Scotland) (SNP): Our history and heritage are hugely important not only because of what they tell us about the past, but because we can learn lessons to help build a better future. That is why I start by welcoming the launch of the Scotland's history website by Learning and Teaching Scotland. It is a wonderful website that gives people from around the world the chance to explore 5,000 years of our country's heritage. It is a welcome demonstration of the Government's commitment to ensure that people in Scotland have the opportunity to learn about and learn from our history and to understand the importance of preserving our heritage for future generations. The built and historic environment summit, to which the motion refers, was an historic first: it was the first event of its kind to be organised by a devolved Scottish Government, but it is not likely to be the last. I declare an interest, as I am one of the people for whom the minister said that Bute hall holds many memories. Some are good, and others—sitting my final exams—are not so good, but it is testament to the foresight of previous generations and of the university authorities that the building has been so well developed and maintained that it can still be used for such wide and varied purposes. Each of us, representing our constituencies and regions, has done well in the debate to highlight historic landmarks and locations that demonstrate what the motion calls "the valuable resource" that our heritage provides to our country's people and our economy. In the South of Scotland, we are lucky enough to have one of this country's five world heritage sites, in Robert Owen's model village of New Lanark, as Karen Gillon mentioned—I agree with a lot of what she said. We pay tribute to those who have been involved in decades of painstaking restoration work to make the village a source of pride for the wider area and an important tourist attraction, as well as a thriving, working, living community in its own right. As a world heritage site, the village sums up many different aspects of the role of heritage, which the motion touches on. The buildings of New Lanark are there not simply to be looked at; they are there to be lived in, worked in, visited and explored. Inside the public spaces it is possible to learn about the ideals of Robert Owen and the co-operative movement, the emphasis on education for the young and the fair treatment of workers. Those ideas are as much a part of the heritage that New Lanark helps to protect and preserve as the buildings or factory workings. It is fitting, during the year of homecoming, that New Lanark and the country's other world heritage sites were chosen to appear on Clydesdale Bank notes, along with important figures and trail-blazers from Scotland's past. |
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