I understand that I sometimes give the impression that I'm more of a spectator of sport than a participant, and recent months have taught me the dangers of participation in some activities, I have to say. But I would like this afternoon, if I could, in a few short moments, to make a plea to look again at how we do reopen the facilities that enable physical activities and sport within our communities. 

I enjoyed reading the committee's report. I felt that there was a very good balance in the report between its focus on the major organised sports—and I agree very much with the analysis provided to the committee by representatives of these sports—and the impact also of COVID on the wider issues of fitness, health and well-being in our society, issues that John Griffiths has just been describing in Newport. And he could have made that speech as well about Blaenau Gwent and about many other communities up and down this country. There are a number of areas where sport is important for our overall health and mental well-being. 

It was about a year ago to now that I was in Cwm Primary School in my constituency participating in the daily mile and the physical activity the children were doing in that school. The headteacher was very, very clear that the outcomes of that physical activity aren't just in the health and well-being of the pupils in the school but in their educational outcomes as well. And as we've been through these last few months, I am very, very aware that these children and young people, particularly in this case, are losing out on those opportunities.

But we also know—and I thought the report was very, very clear on this—that over the last three months, we've seen differential levels of physical activity within our communities; that wealthier communities, wealthier families, wealthier people appear to be able to increase physical activity and be able to do more in terms of health and well-being, whereas we've seen poorer people, people coming from poorer backgrounds and in poorer communities, doing less physical activity and having the opportunity to practice sport and well-being to a far lesser extent.

What that does, of course, is to increase and to widen the inequalities we already see in our communities in terms of wider health and well-being, and there's a very real danger that this impact of COVID will have the clear and obvious impact that the virus has immediately on our communities, but it will also leave a legacy of inequality in our communities, and I hope that the Government are able to address some of these issues. I want to see how the Government is designing a plan to open up the facilities that will underpin the health and well-being of different communities, understand how swimming pools can be reopened, understand how leisure centres can be reopened again, gyms and fitness studios.

We're already talking about how outdoor sports have been able to restart over the last few weeks, but also indoor sports as well. I'm patron of the wheelchair sports club in Ebbw Vale, and I've seen how the wheelchair sports club there have been able to develop not only the club in terms of their activities, but also address fundamental and important issues of health and well-being for its members. And when we are talking about sports, I think we also need to take that more holistic view of what sport actually is. It isn't just watching some of the national and international sporting fixtures, but it's also what happens on a Saturday afternoon, a Saturday morning and a Tuesday night in our communities up and down the country.

I would be in terrible trouble at home if I wasn't also going to use this opportunity to say that my nine-year-old son is desperate to get out and play football again, and I'm sure there are families with nine-year-old sons right up and down this country who want to get out and play football or rugby, or whatever it happens to be. So, we do need to look at how we're able to do this.

Let me finish on this point, Deputy Presiding Officer; I know I'm testing your patience. This is another report indicating a lack of effective engagement from the United Kingdom Government with the Welsh Government. This has been a constant throughout the last few months, and I hope, Deputy Presiding Officer, in accepting the report this afternoon, that this Welsh Parliament will also note that we need to address this fundamental issue of engagement from the United Kingdom Government.