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Original poster

Free Swims Axed

99 replies

snowdropz · 17/06/2010 20:11

so now they are removing the free swims.. what a total and utter disgrace...

I simply can not believe that this is being implemented.

Swimming is a healthy activity that both young and old can enjoy!

OP posts:

southeastastra · 18/06/2010 17:02

how depressing about the change4life

perhaps the middle classes who use the children's centres need to start paying more to keep them open

GiddyPickle · 18/06/2010 17:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MilaMae · 18/06/2010 17:34

I certainly wouldn't have minded at all,I know childminders who take 6 at a time.They do lovely activities that must cost a fair bit to set up. I was only ever charged £1 per family,I would have been happy with £1(maybe £2) per child on top of the charge for snacks.

HerBeatitude · 18/06/2010 18:01

"Keeping your own child fit is your own responsibility not the gov's"

v. true. But unfortunately, many of them don't (which is why we have an obesity epidemic) and in the end, all taxpayers pay the price for that, in the form of higher NHS, SS and CJ bills.

It's vastly cheaper to finance fitness.

GiddyPickle · 18/06/2010 18:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HerBeatitude · 18/06/2010 18:10

I think they were a large percentage, but they weren't the only people.

And like I say, it's a long term thing - it might take ten years for the demographic to change.

But long term isn't what governments do. Which is why so much public money is wasted, because for it to effect real change, it has to be maintained over years, not just over one parliament. The last govt were so obsessed with short term targets, that lots of the money they chucked at the health service and education was wasted.

I suppose that's an argument for having governments for 20 years, but I don't feel inclined to run with that one...

TheCrackFox · 18/06/2010 18:10

Well we can't afford it so it has to go.

TBH i have no idea if they have it round my neck of the woods - DH works all the hours God sends but you need one adult per child in the swimming pool.

LynetteScavo · 18/06/2010 18:15

If there has to be cuts then surely this is one of the least painful.

HerBeatitude · 18/06/2010 18:20

No we can't afford it. But we can afford massive criminal justice, health service and social services bills.

When I need to make cuts in my household expenditure, I cut the short term things, not the long term ones.

LilyBolero · 18/06/2010 18:21

I think this is sad but inevitable. What was interesting at our local pool was that when they started doing the free sessions for children, a LOT of obese children who I'd never seen anywhere near the pool before suddenly started going swimming. Sounds implausible but is true. All I can think is that swimming is a fun thing, but wasn't on their list of priorities to spend money on.

The whole "We're all in this together" thing is crap though. Bear in mind that the taxpayer is paying for David Cameron's children to have free swimming (Chequers has a pool), and I would imagine that the house Nick Clegg and William Hague share the use of, and the one George Osborne gets also have private pools. So we are still paying for free swimming for THEM.

Perhaps they could open their pools up during the week for under-privileged children?

BitOfFun · 18/06/2010 18:26

I agree with everything HerBeatitude has said. Easy to see why she was made a saint

lovechoc · 18/06/2010 19:10

here in Scotland the under 5's go free but everyone else has to pay which is fair enough.

daysoftheweek · 19/06/2010 01:47

oh i had a comment about this a while ago

i too want my admin fee back now......

hots off to those who started swimming then cycling etc etc
don't know how you found the time!

personally can we bring back free swimming and just renegotiate all those fantastically expensive PFI contracts?

tel them we can't afford it the country's bust1

daysoftheweek · 19/06/2010 01:49

sorry for typos sticky keyboard

riggsy · 21/06/2010 09:17

I cant believe people are saying that this is a disgrace??

I think its an absolute god send

I work in a big leisure centre and the amount od trouble, abuse and police phone calls we had to make was rediculous.

The majority of under 16s are a nightmare and have no manners at all. They would abuse all of our lifeguards and staff. We would have to to call the police to remove kids and also because of thefts as it was so busy all of the time as they all got free swimming.

I think this will do our buisness the world of good and cannot wait!!

SpringHeeledJack · 25/06/2010 10:45

...just marking my spot for later as I have reams to say on this one and am just on my way out

curryfreak · 27/06/2010 20:33

It should'nt be free. Have paid through the nose for my kids swimming lessons. Why should others get it free?

gingercat12 · 27/06/2010 20:39

curryfreak The swimming lessons were not free, just the use of the pool.

curryfreak · 27/06/2010 20:44

Ah thanks for putting me straight. Turning puce at the thought of others getting free swimming lessons!
I have heard about free swims, but they have never been available where i live.
Just as well!
Our local pool is overcrowded at the best of times with people who pay. Hate to think what it would be like if every teenager for miles used it as well. What a horrible thought!

NetworkGuy · 28/06/2010 11:21

As has been shown here, it seems 'patchy' at best. I thought that the free swimming pool access was initially for the over 60s with children to follow (which seemed upside down thinking to me, for a start).

However, despite various "positive" aspects of devolution, we seem to be getting to a situation where things one can expect in one country within the UK are not universal.

As an example, I wanted to get lists of schools (to be able to give funds to the PTA, from a business I'm working on building) but when approached, the different authorities had quite different strategies... OFSTED were fine, data accessible, no problems...

Wales said I could have the data but was not allowed to put it online via the web (kick in teeth #1)...

Scotland directed me to a Surrey-based company that would rent the mailing list (kick in teeth #2) - seems the Scots didn't understand I didn't want to damn well write to them, I would be using e-mail of course!

I didn't get round to contacting N.I. in case they wanted to sell me three different lists, one for Catholic schools, one for Protestant schools, and another for 'the rest'!

Swimming pool policy is probably the 'tip of the iceberg' now.

toccatanfudge · 28/06/2010 11:33

DS1 came home from school very excited last week - he's nearly "got it" with his swimming, wanting to know if once he could actually swim we could go swimming.

Had to tell him no >

SpringHeeledJack · 03/07/2010 15:52

We went this morning- am making the most of the free swims before they stop- we're going at every opportunity in the hope that my twins "get it" before the deadline!

I haven't been on a Saturday morning for about three (?) years or so. Last time I went it was almost deserted. This time it was rammed- and the people using the pool v v diverse. And- I know this sounds a bit - but there were a lot of chubby kids in there.

The government can tell us over and over that the folk using the scheme would mostly be swimming anyway. But we wouldn't- and I bet our co-swimmers today wouldn't either!

riggsy- your point highlights to me what is wrong about private companies running public services. I know there is a lot of bad behaviour about in swimming pools- have seen it with my own eyes. But what is "your business" to you is a "community service" to users- with all that entails.

Quattrocento · 03/07/2010 16:13

Edam - it is nonsense to say that the rich got us into this mess. The country is deep in debt because the Labour government increased the public sector massively and took us to war and funded all this by borrowing.

Seriously there ought to be overriding laws to stop governments bankrupting countries. It was beyond irresponsible

Bailing out the banks was the only smart economic move that government made and it will (in fact has already) paid for itself and will continue to generate money for the taxpayer.

Oh and free swims need axing. What a ridiculous argument that the poor need encouraging away from playstations and alcohol. Wrong on so many levels.

tiredfeet · 03/07/2010 16:21

I pretty much agree with quattrocento - the labour government got us into this mess so it is naive to curse the tories. and I say this despite being generally left leaning.

the finances are in a serious mess and there are a lot of cuts that have to be made and we have to cut the least essential things first. The alternative to cuts would be to massively raise taxes for everyone. There is no point just raising taxes for the very rich, they're a small number and in any event they will either just hire expensive lawyers to help them avoid paying the taxes or they will leave the country

my parents didn't have much money when I was a child and there were 4 of us, yet we always managed swimming lessons and fun swims. We just didn't have a tv/ sky subscription/ nice new clothes/ playstations etc etc. Its a case of prioritising.

I'm trying to stay fit while pregnant and am mainly doing this by going for a walk every day - costs nothing. My local authority do free swims for pregnant people but I haven't been any more frequently than I would have if I was paying to be honest, and I have hardly seen another pregnant woman at the pool in all that time, so I suspect that's a waste of money too.

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