Free school swimming lessons election pledge by Plaid Cymru
According to Swim Wales, parents should already "expect their child to attend school swimming at some point during primary school".However, the "exact opportunities" can vary depending on the local council and each individual school, the organisation added.Giving evidence to a Senedd committee in 2023, the chief executive of Swim Wales, Fergus Feeney, said that only 50% of the country's 1,600 plus primary schools took part in swimming, as he warned the activity risks being limited to "white middle class children".Plaid says that a lack of funding limits what primary schools are able to offer and so the party would set money aside specifically for school swimming lessons.Plaid Cymru's culture, media and leisure spokeswoman Heledd Fychan said the party's "fully-costed" policy would "teach every single child the skills they need to enjoy spending time in and by the water safely"."By giving children the opportunity to learn to swim, we will also actively encourage children to be healthier – which is all a part of our commitment to a new and transformative agenda for public health in Wales," she added.
According to the National Water Safety Forum, there were 18 water-related deaths in Wales in 2024 and the rate of accidental drowning in Wales is almost double that of the UK as a whole."Teaching our young people how to swim and be safe in and around water is a necessity, not a nice-to-have," Fychan said.Fergus Feeney said he "welcomed" the policy."Without urgent action, tens of thousands of Welsh children every year could leave primary school unable to stay safe in, on, or around water," he said."By having a universal school swimming offer, we can ensure that Welsh children from all backgrounds have the same opportunity to acquire a life skill, to develop their confidence and begin their journey of lifelong physical activity."This would mean that Wales would be the first home nation to have a national programme of this significance in place."Earlier this year, the Senedd's culture committee called on the government to "develop a school swimming strategy to ensure that children leaving primary school have the ability to swim".Responding at the time, the minister for culture Jack Sargeant said he agreed with "the intention of the recommendation", but added "we need to be mindful of the financial pressure the recommendation would imply for schools in the current difficult financial circumstances"."The statutory guidance within the Curriculum for Wales, which all schools must consider, includes learners engaging in a range of physical activity, including within water," he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
28 minutes ago
- The Sun
Online Safety Act designed to protect kids has ended up becoming a blunt tool to censor free speech
Self-harm Act SOCIAL media is infested with dangerous content such as self-harm videos. So it's understandable that ministers should wish to protect children from such vile material on the internet. But the Online Safety Act designed to protect kids has ended up becoming a blunt tool to censor free speech. New laws introduced last week put a ban on 'legal but harmful' material. But it is so wide a term that it risks morphing into sinister state control. The new Act has already led to users on X being barred from viewing images from anti-immigration protests by anonymous moderators. It's only a matter of time before any kind of political content ends up being deleted for unexplained, anti-democratic reasons. The Act was sold as being necessary to prevent vulnerable children seeing content related to the likes of suicide, eating disorders and pornography. But an 1,800 per cent increase in downloads of VPN blockers — used to disguise the country of origin of internet users — shows that any tech-savvy teen can get round basic age verification checks. In the cause of banning hurty words, ministers have instead ended up curbing freedom of expression while doing nothing to improve safety. The real abusers — who mainly operate from abroad anyway — will carry on with their evil activity. Big changes come to PornHub and a dozen other XXX sites 1 Boom 'n' bust IT is simply unsustainable for Britain to be able to absorb a population explosion as massive as the one we have been subjected to in the last two years. Numbers in England and Wales grew by 706,881 in 2024 and 821,210 in 2023. That has taken the total to nearly 62million. What preparations did the Tories — who shamefully lost control of immigration in these years — make for such a fundamental change? Absolutely none. With a housing shortage, an NHS in crisis and a daily battle to keep the lights on and the water pumping, Labour must get numbers down. Migration on this scale — especially when so many are low-skilled workers — is ruinously bad for the economy. It ends up costing more to house and look after them than they contribute. No one voted for any of this. Pride in Ozzy BIRMINGHAM did its favourite son Ozzy Osbourne proud yesterday. The old showman would have loved the huge turnout for him in his native city. No doubt looking down from his black throne in rock heaven, Ozzy will have had a message for his many fans: No more tears.
The Guardian
40 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Aston Martin's 24-hour scramble to get lower US tariffs pays off
Aston Martin scrambled to deliver three months' worth of cars to dealers in the US within 24 hours as it rushed to qualify for lower tariffs that came into effect on 30 June. By invoicing the whole quarter's cars on that same day it avoided having to report a sales slump that might have alarmed investors. The operation may not have matched the drama of the James Bond films that have long featured the brand, but it 'was quite exciting, to put it mildly', said Adrian Hallmark, Aston Martin's chief executive. Donald Trump has shaken the global economy with a trade war, causing a particular stir in the car industry with his imposition of a 25% tariff on 3 April on top of an existing 2.5% levy. Germany's Mercedes-Benz said on Wednesday Trump's border taxes would cost it about €360m (£311m) this year, while the sportscar-maker Porsche said it had taken a €400m hit from the levies in the first half of the year. However, in early May, the US president and Keir Starmer agreed a deal to limit tariffs on 100,000 British-made cars per year to 10%. That rate came into force at one minute past midnight on 30 June, the final day of the second financial quarter. Aston Martin Lagonda manufactures all its cars in factories in Gaydon, Warwickshire, and St Athan, south Wales. It shipped 328 cars to dealers in the Americas between April and June but the majority were sent on 30 June. It was a 'mammoth task', Hallmark said. 'This left us with 24 hours to invoice the entire quarter's-worth of vehicle sales in the US.' The one-day scramble illustrates the tariff turmoil causing headaches for goods exporters around the world. Aston Martin revealed that it had raised prices for US customers by 3% to absorb some of the hit from the border taxes. Getting the cars to dealers early would have meant a big financial blow from absorbing the higher tariff rate, while late arrivals that missed the quarter-end would have meant reporting a big slump in sales. So Aston Martin decided to send hundreds of cars to bonded warehouses in the US – where goods can be stored without being subject to tariffs – before delivery firms raced to get them all to dealers before the end of day on 30 June. Those cars attracted the 10% rate, rather than 27.5%. Other carmakers face higher costs. The EU reached a deal with the US to cut tariffs on most goods including cars to 15%. Mercedes-Benz boss Ola Källenius said he did not expect any improvement on that for the car industry, despite lobbying for a lower rate from Germany's carmakers. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Aston Martin also said it had cut production and limited exports to the US to try to limit the financial impact. Even after its 30 June operation, Aston Martin could still be hit later in the year when it launches its million-dollar Valhalla, a mid-engine hypercar that it hopes will be a major contributor to profits. However, it is worried that the quota of 100,000 cars covered by the 10% tariff could be used up before it can get the Valhalla to dealers – potentially adding more than £100,000 to the price if importers must pay the 27.5% rate. British companies exported just over 100,000 cars to the US last year, with the bulk being Range Rovers shipped by JLR. The quota could mean an end-of-year race between British carmakers to get their vehicles into the country, with 'pressure on the number of slots available on the 100,000 quota', Hallmark said.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Scots MP branded 'despicable' over sickening insult to Israeli hostages in Gaza
A Scottish MP has been condemned for 'despicable' comments justifying Hamas holding innocent Israelis hostage as it's 'the only bargaining power' the terror group has left. Angus MacDonald provoked outrage after claiming if the terror group released the hostages they seized in 2023 then Israel would 'obliterate' Palestine. The Liberal Democrats are now facing calls to suspend the MP for his 'vile moral bankruptcy' about the innocent victims of Hamas. Anti-Semitism campaigners joined political opponents in condemning the remarks, made in response to one of his constituents on social media site Facebook. Mr MacDonald, who represents Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, last night refused to issue an apology to the families of innocent Israeli hostages and the Scottish Lib Dems defended the comments and claimed he was not justifying or defending hostage-taking. Sammy Stein, chairman of the Glasgow Friends of Israel group, said: 'I believe it is particularly despicable of Angus MacDonald MP to defend the right of Hamas, an internationally proscribed terrorist organisation, to kidnap and hold innocent Israelis, including women, kids, babies and the elderly, most of whom were kidnapped from their homes on October 7 MacDonald 'There is absolutely no doubt that if Hamas released the hostages, the fighting would stop. MacDonald is delusional if he believes that continuing to hold them would persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire. 'As long as the fighting continues, more innocent civilians are likely to be killed. The reason Hamas is not releasing the hostages is that they want to see more civilians killed, thus provoking more criticism from the world against Israel. 'I would like to think that most reasonable and thoughtful people will see him for the fool he is.' Mr MacDonald, who was elected for the first time in last year's general election, had initially posted on Facebook about his support for the UK recognising Palestine as a separate state. When asked by one of his constituents, Facebook user Billy Rodgers, if he had written to Hamas to ask them to release the remaining hostages, Mr MacDonald replied: 'If they release the hostages then Israel will completely obliterate any of Palestine left, it's the only bargaining power they have left.' Mr Rodgers replied: 'So you support the use of hostages taking as a legitimate strategy. I know who I won't be voting for in the next election to serve as my local MP.' A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitisim said: 'To refer to hostages as a 'bargaining chip' is vile moral bankruptcy. 'These are innocent human beings who were violently abducted amid the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. They have been held in inhumane, terrifying conditions for nearly two years. 'Dehumanising them in this way not only erases their suffering but also plays directly into the hands of their captors, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The Liberal Democrats must suspend Angus MacDonald pending a full investigation.' Jamie Halcro Johnston, Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands region, said: 'It is astonishing and deplorable that Angus MacDonald is apparently trying to justify Hamas terrorists continuing to hold innocent Israelis hostage nearly two years on from the barbaric October 7 attack. 'His comments are not just grossly offensive, they're naïve. 'We all want to see an end to the awful scenes in the Middle East, particularly the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza - and the release of all remaining hostages would strengthen the hand of international leaders in pushing for a permanent ceasefire.' The comments remained on Facebook last night after Mr MacDonald and the Scottish Liberal Democrats were approached by the Mail about them and he was asked whether he would apologise to the families of Israeli hostages. A Scottish Liberal Democrat spokesman said: 'Angus wasn't defending or justifying hostage taking - he was describing the widely accepted view that Hamas is very regrettably using the hostages as leverage against Israel. 'Angus and the Scottish Liberal Democrats have been completely clear that Hamas should release the hostages immediately and unconditionally - and that there is no place for the terror group in the future of Gaza. 'Angus has used his position as an MP to campaign for the release of the hostages, and has made clear, on the parliamentary record, his disgust at Hamas's treatment of the hostages.'
