A DUNFERMLINE councillor has renewed her call for swimming lessons to be a priority after the publication of a water safety report.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) wants more Scottish councils to develop water safety policies after releasing a 10 year review.
It said 91 per cent of local authorities ranked water safety as an important issue in relation to other service demands with 68 per cent of councils now having a named person or department responsible for water safety.
READ MORE: Dunfermline councillor wants swimming on school curriculum
This was an improvement on 2013's figures when only 44 per cent of respondents had a named water safety lead.
Dunfermline Central councillor Aude Boubaker-Calder said water safety should be a priority and her request for Fife Council to put swimming back on the primary school curriculum is now set to be looked at next year.
"I have asked for a report to be brought back to Fife Council about bringing back the swimming lessons because, for me, it is a priority," she said. "It was supposed to be in November but they are pushing it back to March now so it is a bit frustrating.
"They have a bit of time to be able to gather the numbers. I can understand that but without funding, it is not going to happen.
"For me it is a priority. I think it is just basic knowledge that you have to have when you are at primary school to swim 25 metres. I come from Belgium and you would get lessons there, not all year, to make sure all the schools in the area could get it.
"As much as it should be a priority, I don't know if it is for Fife Council.
"We know that West Fife has a lack of swimming facilities especially when we see Woodmill High School disappear from our scope. Without the infrastructure, how can we get all these schools to get swimming?"
She referenced cash-strapped North Lanarkshire Council, which was set to scrap 39 leisure facilities until the decision was reversed on Tuesday, and added: "It is going back to the same issue in Fife of where the funding is coming from."
READ MORE: Fife Council to try and put swimming back on primary school curriculum
Cllr Boubaker-Calder said swimming offers long-term benefits for youngsters.
She added: "For me, the priority is definitely the health and education of our children. We know that swimming is good for mental health and physical health especially when we have an obesity issue in Scotland.
"Waiting lists for swimming lessons are long in Dunfermline. I have a two-year-old and I am lucky I was a strong swimmer when I was younger so I know how to swim and I would be able to teach her, but that is not the case for every parent."
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