Tessa Jowell backs Echo Swim for Free campaign (From Dorset Echo)
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Tessa Jowell backs Echo Swim for Free campaign
8:55am Monday 9th March 2009 in Campaigns
Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell adds her name to the Echo petition
OLYMPICS Minister Tessa Jowell has signed up to our Swim for Free campaign.
She has thrown her weight behind the campaign to win free swimming for children and pensioners in Weymouth and Portland.
The Swim for Free campaign was started by Age Concern trustee and volunteer Norah Riley-Smith in response to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s decision to reject a Government scheme to give over-60s and under-16s free access to public pools.
South Dorset MP Jim Knight has backed campaign – as has Culture Secretary Andy Burnham.
And the petition has also been endorsed by Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell.
Mr Knight said: “One of the great benefits of hosting the Olympics in our country is that it can really help motivate people to do more exercise.
“Tessa Jowell was therefore keen to join the Echo's Swim for Free campaign to get the council to agree to accept government money so that free swimming can be offered to so many Weymouth and Portland residents.”
Mr Knight said that he couldn’t understand why the council had not chosen to adopt the free swimming initiative.
He said: “It just doesn’t make sense to me, they are being offered an investment in the local area and in local residents and, for whatever reason, they are saying no.
“The Government has offered to provide money for local councils in order for them to be able to provide free swimming.
“As part of the Olympic legacy we want to encourage everyone to become more active and we felt swimming was already something families do but we particularly want to encourage young people and elderly people to be able to take advantage of local pools and do a bit of exercise.
“Particularly for the elderly it’s a great way of keeping fit, it’s a very low impact way of doing good aerobic exercise without putting too much stress on the body.”
Mr Knight added: “It is extremely disappointing that there are councils such as Weymouth and Portland who have decided that they don’t want to take advantage of this Government money.
“I am right behind Age Concern and the Dorset Echo in their campaign and I really haven’t heard any good reason from the councillors that run Weymouth and Portland as to why they want to refuse this money.”
Comments(16)
mikeman
says...
11:22am Mon 9 Mar 09
Ted Hyde wrote:Somebody got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.
Dear Editor, What would be really great is if our MP would try and alter governement policy on the so called "Free Concesionary Bus Travel Scheme" that will soon be costing WPBC rate payers just short of 500,000 per year. This campaign by the Dorset Echo in league with our Labour MP is cheap desperate electioneering. Informed opinion and that presumably includes our increasingly desperate MP knows full well that even for local people over 60 to swim "free" the rate payer will still have to pay for the acknowledged funding gap. And then we will have the visitors to pay for too as we do with the "free" bus fare scheme. I would recommend that the editor makes an attempt to find out the facts before someone puts a complaint in to PCC abolut blatent political bias and totally inaccurate reporting. Ted Hyde and many others.
Never Wrong
says...
11:27am Mon 9 Mar 09
Ask Archie
says...
11:58am Mon 9 Mar 09
I Don't Like The New Echo Website
says...
12:14pm Mon 9 Mar 09
It is a bit like benefits- we pay tax which supports people who cannot work. However, many people on benefits COULD work, just don't want to. Yet I have to pay tax to support them.
I really don't want to pay extra tax to support people that want to go swimming. It will be calculated on a cost per head basis, and not everyone will use it.
Definitely agree with the PCC comment- and now a Labour minister wading in....
Genghis
says...
12:29pm Mon 9 Mar 09
Ask Archie
says...
1:14pm Mon 9 Mar 09
Genghis wrote:We aready pay for this with Ni contributions and PAYE.Which is my point.Nothing is free someone has to pay.We all at sometime use the NHS & have all made use of the education system.So we have, or are paying for what we use.
What about free education and free health treatment? Get rid of it and let the parents and patients pay their own way.
mikeman
says...
1:42pm Mon 9 Mar 09
Ask Archie wrote:Archie I would like to point out that I have made my position on this matter quite clear on previous posts, that being that I support free swimming as long as it is wholly 100% paid for be central government at no cost whatsoever to the local council tax payer. I agree with you 100% that nothing in this life is free whether it be bus passes/prescriptions or swimming, it all has to be paid for by us all in some way or another. My earlier post was directed at the comment & I quote.
When will people realise that nothing in this world is free.The concessionary bus pass scheme was a goverment idea to try and win the grey vote, and has never been properly financed.I suspect free swimming is another rouse to try and win votes with little thought into how it will be financed.I agree with Ted Hyde.Unlike Mikeman who seems to have nothing sensible to add to this debate.
This campaign by the Dorset Echo in league with our Labour MP is cheap desperate electioneering
One can only assume that Mr Ted Hyde is not a Labour supporter, but I fail to see how bus passes or free swimming can be regarded as electioneering when quite clearly the government has made such a hash of both & clearly scored an own goal. If the government want to introduce these schemes they should look at ways of funding them from central government or at least make sure that they do not become a burden on local council tax payers.
PS I am sorry Archie if you failed to see the lighter side of my comment.
Andy Cooke
says...
2:53pm Mon 9 Mar 09
Genghis
says...
5:46pm Mon 9 Mar 09
Ask Archie wrote:As "I Don't Like...." said though it's not everyone paying NI and tax. Simple way to fund the bus fare and swimming concessions is to reduce benefits so that getting a job is a better proposition than a career in benefits. Money saved can then be used to help our pensioners out.
Genghis wrote: What about free education and free health treatment? Get rid of it and let the parents and patients pay their own way.We aready pay for this with Ni contributions and PAYE.Which is my point.Nothing is free someone has to pay.We all at sometime use the NHS & have all made use of the education system.So we have, or are paying for what we use.
biggestoaf
says...
6:04pm Mon 9 Mar 09
Andy Cooke wrote:Please check out Jim Knight's website to see that, far from doing little, Jim is taking very positive steps to make the bus scheme more affordable.
It truly amazes me that Mr Knight is so quick to jump on the bandwagon of supporting the free swimming campaign yet appears to have done so little to address the issue of the 1000's of pounds that the government is costing local council tax payers with the bus fares scheme. In principal of course both schemes are very valid yet as so often happens very badly implemented by this government.
http://www.jimknight
mp.com/jims_blog?Ent
ry=43e7d8c2-02a9-01a
4-191d-0f5d5e0b1b26
Scolopax
says...
6:41pm Mon 9 Mar 09
I Don't Like The New Echo Website
says...
8:48pm Mon 9 Mar 09
Ask Archie
says...
8:25am Tue 10 Mar 09
biggestoaf wrote:It's a shame Jim Knights web site does not give details of the 3200 new laws bought in by this goverment.We could all then deceide if what he and his cohorts are doing is truely of benefit to anyone except the goverment.I have not seen Jim stand up and say he will make sure that bus companies get the money they should,instead of having to carry all these people for nothing.
Andy Cooke wrote: It truly amazes me that Mr Knight is so quick to jump on the bandwagon of supporting the free swimming campaign yet appears to have done so little to address the issue of the 1000's of pounds that the government is costing local council tax payers with the bus fares scheme. In principal of course both schemes are very valid yet as so often happens very badly implemented by this government.Please check out Jim Knight's website to see that, far from doing little, Jim is taking very positive steps to make the bus scheme more affordable. http://www.jimknight mp.com/jims_blog?Ent ry=43e7d8c2-02a9-01a 4-191d-0f5d5e0b1b26
Ted Hyde
says...
9:46am Tue 10 Mar 09
For the record Ted Hyde is over 60 and if he wants to go swimming he will either pay or go into the sea. There is no such thing as free... someone has to pay. And please note that this proposed scheme will only cover the one council pool not excellent facilities like Boscowan who will most probaly go out of business.
The echo campaign is quite simply politicaly biased and ill informed. I thought the change of editor might improve things obviously not.
Ted Hyde
Ted Hyde
Ted Hyde
says...
9:47am Tue 10 Mar 09
For the record Ted Hyde is over 60 and if he wants to go swimming he will either pay or go into the sea. There is no such thing as free... someone has to pay. And please note that this proposed scheme will only cover the one council pool not excellent facilities like Boscowan who will most probaly go out of business.
The echo campaign is quite simply politicaly biased and ill informed. I thought the change of editor might improve things obviously not.
Ted Hyde
Ted Hyde
Ted Hyde says...
10:55am Mon 9 Mar 09
What would be really great is if our MP would try and alter governement policy on the so called "Free Concesionary Bus Travel Scheme" that will soon be costing WPBC rate payers just short of 500,000 per year.
This campaign by the Dorset Echo in league with our Labour MP is cheap desperate electioneering. Informed opinion and that presumably includes our increasingly desperate MP knows full well that even for local people over 60 to swim "free" the rate payer will still have to pay for the acknowledged funding gap. And then we will have the visitors to pay for too as we do with the "free" bus fare scheme.
I would recommend that the editor makes an attempt to find out the facts before someone puts a complaint in to PCC abolut blatent political bias and totally inaccurate reporting.
Ted Hyde and many others.