Free swimming: we won’t dive in

Oldham is not going in at the deep end over plans for free swimming for the over-60s.

Instead, the council will wade cautiously through the Government scheme to remove charges for older people.

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham has said that nine million people over 60 are to get free swimming with more than 80 per cent of local authorities joining the Government scheme.

The initiative is part of a £140 million investment in the sport that also includes free swimming for those aged 16 and under and capital for local authorities to upgrade pools.

For the over 60s, 300 out of 354 local authorities have confirmed that they will participate, offering free swimming to this age group between 2009 and 2011.

But in Oldham, Cabinet member for community services, Councillor John McCann said they had told the Government that they were willing to bid “in principle” for the grant funding available under the scheme.

He said: “We are not in the business of pouring cold water on initiatives aimed at benefiting our residents but we have to be satisfied that the sums add up.

“What we don’t want to do is to commit council tax payers in future years to costs that can be avoided now.

“We have therefore told the Government that we wish to bid for the funding in principle — about £59,000 a year over two years — provided we can make up this funding with other partner bodies beyond the two-year grant period of the initiative.

“With ever increasing pressures on the council’s budget, it is all the more important to scrutinise the financial implications of such initiatives ever more closely.”