Scotland's most decorated Olympian Duncan Scott warns drowning figures will 'worsen' due to pool closures

Olympic swimmer Duncan Scott has warned the number of drownings in Scotland's waters will only increase as a result of pool closures.

The athlete, who is Scotland's most decorated Olympian, also questioned how the next generation of sporting heroes would be able to emerge.

Mr Scott is a "learn to swim" ambassador for Scottish Swimming, the national governing body for swimming, diving and water polo.

Duncan Scott | PA

John Lunn, the chief executive of Scottish Swimming, said the organisation “wholeheartedly” supports the idea of placing a statutory duty on authorities to ensure every child has the opportunity to learn how to swim.

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Both men were giving evidence on Wednesday to Holyrood’s citizen participation and public petitions committee, which is considering a petition by Scottish Swimming calling on MSPs to “recognise the value of swimming pools and provide financial relief to help keep pools open”.

Mr Lunn said Scotland has the highest drowning statistics in the UK, adding: “You can't draw a cause and correlative effect in relation to learning to swim and school swimming in that respect, or public pools, but there's definitely an impact there.

"As pools start to close and come under threat and are not replaced, we will see in the years to come, I believe, higher instances. Those statistics will not improve, they will only get worse."

Mr Scott, who is Great Britain’s most decorated Olympic swimmer, said Scotland punches above its weight in swimming. However, he said some of the pools he trained in, such as the Alloa Leisure Bowl and Bo'ness swimming pool, have now closed.

"It does make me think, with my athlete head on, where these next athletes are going to come from,” he said.

Mr Scott told MSPs: "As an athlete, I always think it's so special and I've been very grateful that I've been able to compete at so many different home - as in, the UK - competitions, but then also in Scotland as well, hosting European championships and the Commonwealth Games. But it makes me wonder, what will this legacy come to if there's a lack of pools in this country?

"In England, in 2023, there were 382 pools that had closed since 2010, and as many were nearing the end of their lifespan. And due to this a swimming pool support fund and specific cross-working group for swimming was set up because of this such vital life skill.

"So what do we do in Scotland to get the same level of focus and support? Without this, I fear that that 'generation swim' idea from Scottish Swimming is going to be a generation of 'cannot swim', and our drowning figures are only going to worsen.

"So I think having a joint government taskforce with the Scottish Government and [council body] Cosla to assess the investment needs for pools would be a great outcome."

In a written submission to the committee, Cosla said councils required “fair and flexible funding” to protect vital community services and facilities. The council umbrella body said operating swimming pools provided “a challenge to local authorities facing severe budget pressures”.