GOUROCK'S outdoor pool is one of the gems of Inverclyde, and of Scotland.

As Tele readers will know it even made the cover of Blur’s latest album.

And with the recent beautiful weather, many people will be taking themselves to the pool to enjoy themselves and take exercise, as they do in pools across Inverclyde year-round.

Recently I have raised the future of our swimming pools with the First Minister and the Scottish Government. 

As things stand, that future looks bleak: the cost-of-living crisis has left many sectors struggling to afford heating and energy bills. 

Swimming pools are particularly hard-hit: the annual cost of heating pools has more than doubled and the UK’s Government’s decision not to include swimming pools in the Energy Bills Discount Scheme has made this situation worse.

And given the savage cuts to local government budgets inflicted year after year by this Scottish Government, councils and leisure trusts are faced with impossible choices, and are struggling for funds to keep open all the area’s swimming pools.

In Inverclyde, tough spending decisions have been needed to keep our pools open.

Sadly in other parts of Scotland, pools look set to close

Scotland’s swimming pools and leisure facilities are our nation’s Natural Health Service, and act as an essential preventative component of the health service, saving the NHS an estimated £42 million a year through adult participation alone. 

They are vital community hubs, and provide potentially lifesaving swimming lessons to thousands of children, particularly vital in a coastal area like Inverclyde. 

They also accommodate recreational swimming and exercise sessions to keep people fit.

The UK Government has announced a £63 million Swimming Pool Support Fund. Although this is a drop in the ocean the funds allocated are still are welcome. 

For all these reasons, I have called on the Scottish Government to follow suit and act now to provide funding to save swimming pools in Inverclyde and beyond from the threat of closure. 

Inverclyde needs our pools to remain open and accessible to all and got some additional support.

It’s time the Scottish Government splashed a little cash.