Yorkshire MP urges Government to ‘act urgently’ and protect swimming pools

Kim Leadbeater is urging Ministers to reconsider its decision to drop leisure centres from its Energy Bills Discount Scheme in April.

The Government said it has already provided an £18bn support package to help organisations, such leisure centres and pools, cope with rising costs and those facilities were handed another £1bn of support during the pandemic.

But Ms Leadbeater, who is the Labour MP for Batley and Spen, said they are “absolutely essential” to their local communities and must be protected beyond April as people use them to improve their physical and mental health.

She is also concerned that thousands of children across the country will miss out on swimming lessons if their local pools close.

“Swimming is not just a nice hobby, it's something that can save your life,” she said. “Every child needs to be taught how to swim.”

When Ms Leadbeater, who is also chairman of the Commons All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sport, wrote to the Government earlier this month she said protecting these pools is “a matter of national urgency”.

"A decision has to be made in a matter of days for facilities to survive. I would really press the Government to act urgently,” she said.

It comes after three of her local pools were temporarily closed by Kirklees Active Leisure, between December and March, to save money due to spiralling energy costs.

Earlier this month, Ivan Horsfall Turner, Chief Executive of Freedom Leisure, revealed the cost of powering more than 100 leisure centres has almost tripled, rising from £8m to £20m, despite support from the Government's Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

And according to the trade body UK Active, some operators have already seen their bills rise by up to 300 per cent since 2019.

The trade body said more than 300 leisure centres, pools or gyms across the country have either been forced to close, temporarily or permanently, over the last year, or made significant changes, such as reducing opening hours or lowering pool temperatures.

UK Active has also warned that 40 per cent of council areas are at risk of losing their leisure centres and swimming pools, or seeing services scaled back, by April.

Councils run around a third of the nation’s swimming pools, and many are preparing to make budget cuts in the coming months so they can balance the books.

Last week, eight organisations including Swim England and the Local Government Association urged the Government to reclassify leisure centres as "energy intensive" so they qualify for a higher discount on energy prices from April, like other facilities such as museums and libraries.

In a joint statement, they said the Government should “not to take for granted the role and importance of sport, recreation, and physical activity in our country”.

They added: “Unless changed, communities will see the loss of essential local services, including swimming lessons for children, multi-sport offerings, mental health services, bespoke programmes for older citizens, ethnically diverse communities and disabled people, and long-term health programmes including cancer rehabilitation, musculoskeletal support, and type 2 diabetes.

“This will impact millions of people, of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.”