Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:46 pm on 13 January 2021.
Thank you very much for introducing these petitions. I fully appreciate, because I've had lots of constituents contributing to the discussion before this debate about the way in which gyms can really be a lifesaver for some, literally as a way of overcoming, or working through, traumatic experiences. So, I completely acknowledge the important role of that sort of intense exercise to work through the tensions—both physical and mental tensions—that many people are having to overcome.
Whilst I would urge anybody who currently cannot use a gym, because we have to have them closed, to ensure they exercise outdoors while we cannot do that, I appreciate, however, that, for some people, to exercise outdoors, particularly in winter, would be very, very challenging, either because of their frailty or their physical disability, which prevents them walking very far. For example, if you're blind, walking or running outdoors can be very hazardous because of the pavement furniture that could actually cause them really serious injury if they're not doing it with somebody else.
And for many with a disability—maybe a back problem—swimming really is the best form of exercise. For example, for women in the late stages of pregnancy. Giving birth is not a sprint, it's a marathon, and the fitter you are the more prepared you are for this, the most wonderful, but most demanding physical, mental and emotional challenge they're ever likely to face. Unfortunately, the swimming pool in my constituency, Pentwyn Leisure Centre, has been closed since March and there's no end in sight at the moment as to when it may reopen, even though it's located in one of the most disadvantaged communities in the whole of Wales, in a super-output area of deprivation, where over half the residents have no access to a car and they certainly won't have had any other holiday or leisure experience beyond walking in the last 10 months.
Turning to golf, it doesn't have a great image, even before Donald Trump came on the scene, because it is very much the image of a sport that is only for the well endowed. But I appreciate that being in the outdoors and walking around a specific course is a fantastic outdoor opportunity, and it is very disappointing that we have had to close golf courses at the moment, because, whilst they were allowed to reopen, they did implement some serious messages in terms of one-way systems, booking in advance, and not allowing people to go into the club to socialise. So, once again, I hope that we will be able to reopen golf courses again in the future.
In terms of football, I'm afraid that the professionals in football do no favours to encouraging us to think that football is something that we can do safely, because we've all seen on the television the way in which footballers embrace each other every time they get a goal. So, this is absolutely not permitted at this time. But, nevertheless, it ought to be possible to very soon envisage ways in which we can reopen small-scale amateur clubs—five-a-side, seven-a-side young groups involved in that—and I very much hope that soon we'll be able to be sufficiently confident about the extent of this new variant to enable us to do that. But, for now, I completely support the Welsh Government's position that, at this very moment, with hospitals on the brink of collapsing, we cannot allow any additional activities such as these really excellent ones in and of themselves. So, I do look forward to the day when we can make all three of these activities a priority for reopening.