Jun 29 - Minister Linares Budget Speech – Full Text

Written by YGTV Team on 29 June 2017.

Mr Speaker,


This is my 18th Budget Speech and my 6th as a Government Minister.

I will begin my speech by giving a synopsis of what has been achieved in the past year in relation to Culture.

As it is now well known when we entered into Government we inherited the mess that was concocted by the previous administration weeks before a general election in relation to the Gibraltar Culture and Heritage Agency. The replacement and reforms we have undertaken has proved now for the past 3 years to be not only the right decision, but also a great success.

The formation of Gibraltar Cultural Services GCS and having the Ministry of Culture running different events has gone a long way in promoting, enhancing and developing our local culture to the rest of the world.

In conjunction with the Gibraltar Tourist Board, the Gibraltar Literary Festival was organised as part of events-led tourism initiatives. This event now in its 5th year has proved to be one that has given Gibraltar an academic as well as a cultural profile comparable to any other Literary Festival held in the UK or elsewhere.

In fact we have given the Literary Festival our own local flavour. It has brought to our shores many intellectuals, writers, commentators and others giving festival considerable prestige.

The annual Drama Festival held in March 2017, was the biggest to date, with 17 entries over a whole week of theatre. We now see International drama groups participating from both UK and from Spain alongside local groups.

GCS have started to work on a major Retrospective Exhibition for January 2018 that will celebrate Fashion Design in Gibraltar.

This is part of our ongoing cultural development initiatives.

The same can be said of the Gibraltar World Music Festival which we sponsor. This festival is widely regarded as one which highlights our harmonious multicultural society beyond our shores.

This year the theme of Upraising has attracted coverage on International TV Channels.

Convivencia was the motto for 2017 and workshops and seminars were held in our university that analysed how religious and cultural diversity and religious blend together in a small society such as ours.

The Gibraltar-Berlin Art Residency project will take place for the second year, in July 2017. This will see Shane Dalmedo our local artist taking up an art residency in Berlin, and a Berlin artist doing a residency in Gibraltar. This initiative started in 2016 and is proving to be very successful in exporting our artistic talent.

We again financially supported the participation of local artists in competitions abroad, such as the Royal Academy of Art Summer Exhibition and others.

GCS is responsible for overseeing and organising traditional events in our calendar such as Miss Gibraltar, the Spring Festival; the Autumn Programme, Summer Nights, Gibraltar Fair and National Day Celebrations; the New Year’s Celebrations; the International Art Competitions; Literary and Poetry Competitions and Classical Concerts in conjunction with the Philharmonic society among other events.

This year saw GCS organising the 3rd edition of Gibtalks, an event along the lines of the famous TED Talks, which has proved to be extremely popular.

In May 2017, Shakespeare was back in town! As part of the Spring Festival, Hamlet was performed and a number of workshops for school children were held. These workshops were carried out by the Young Shakespeare Company, which were especially flown over from the UK.

GCS will also be heavily involved in the organisation of the Opening and Closing ceremony of our Island Games in 2019.

On the 2nd June GCS organised the second anniversary of the opening of yet another manifesto commitment in respect of a National Art Gallery as we all know named the Mario Finlayson National Art Gallery.

Apart from developing, promoting and supporting cultural events GCS also does facilities management. They not only run the Ince’s Hall, Mackintosh Hall, Retreat Centre, the Central Hall, The Gibraltar Exhibition of Modern Art (GEMA) and Fine Arts and the Gustavo Bacarisas Galleries they also now help eligible groups and associations with the maintenance of their premises.

When we came into government in 2011 we realised that cultural premises, where the Government was the landlord were not being properly maintained and that this resulted in one of the tenants making a claim for damages due to water ingress.

Now we have a programme of maintenance, which identifies problems in premises, and GCS will deal with these issues soon so that groups and associations can continue with their good work.

There are many examples of maintenance and repairs that have been carried out. This includes the roof of South Barracks recreational rooms to avoid further water ingress, the provision of a new front gate at the Gibraltar Amateur Radio Association, repairs to lighting, guttering, façade and installation of hand rails at the South District Senior Citizens social club, repairs to stop the caving-in of the floor at the Gibraltar Down Syndrome Support Group unit at Retrenchment Block, repairs to roof guttering at 35 Town Range & 72 Prince Edwards Road, and many more.

This we do because we value the work that all these groups do for our society. It is an area which was neglected before we came into office.

The Mackintosh Hall Library has gone through a massive transformation since 2014. I am glad that the Hon Roy Clinton visited the library recently and found out the extensive improvements that the library has gone through.

Recently new overhead signage has been installed to demarcate different areas of the library, and individual row signage to show what is on what shelf. New books are constantly being purchased and CCTV cameras installed in the children’s area, fiction section, main reception and reference room.

In addition to this, the repairs to the actual theatre are now complete.

These have consisted of:

The Refurbishment of the Sound & Light control room with new Sound & Light equipment.

New floor and seating, removal of seats to create disabled access and increased capacity from 380 to 408 seats, new Curtains, new carpet for upper theatre gallery and new frosting to main doors.

LED lights replacement for courtyard area.

Extra furniture bought which includes tables, chairs, plinths and signholders, new doors, new ticket office built for public use and hire, landscape poster display and CCTV cameras for main entrance plus many more improvements which have made the Hall a place which we can now be proud of.

The same can be said for the many improvements to the Fine Arts Gallery, the Gustavo Bacarisas Gallery, the Central Hall and the Ince’s Hall.

The Ministry of Culture has also been very busy in Organising Events such as the Jazz Festival, Winter Party in Town, the Darts Trophy, Pool and the Snooker Tournaments.

The Ministry of Culture is and has been leading on the organisation of Gibraltar Calling.

We have been working for the past two years to be able to partner with the biggest brand in the world and the most important Music TV channel that of MTV to be able to deliver a Music Festival that will be shown around the world.

This has come on the back of our own Gibraltar Music Festival which was very successful and attracted residents as well as tourists.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who were involved in the GMF in having helped us produce the biggest event in our social calendar and I hope they consider being involved in the Gibraltar Calling as well.

It is obvious that the vision that we had as a manifesto commitment in 2011 is now reaping the benefits.

Mr Speaker, our policy of events led tourism is working and the figures for hotel occupancy as well as all the other statistics that the Chief Minister mentioned in his address show this. We have now moved this event to the international arena and representatives of MTV, who were very impressed with our product, have teamed up with my Ministry to create an event which will be beamed to more than 30 countries.

The value of this is immense.
To give you just a snapshot of the benefits of this partnership I will give this house a few figures.

The following figures are only a conservative estimate in relation to what the MEDIA VALUE that partnering with MTV will mean.

1. The TV Programme(s) being produced and which will be broadcast in 30+ countries and has audiences of around a billion is estimated to have a value of = £500k
2. The 1500 minimum 30second Broadcast Advertising Spots is estimated to be = £150k
3. 20+ Social Media Posts with a reach of 3m+ and one of its Twitter account having a following of 15m+ people is estimate = £150k
4. Press coverage via MTV - will reach upwards of £1million in media value. MINIMUM TOTAL FORECAST MEDIA VALUE = is therefore £1.7M

Mr Speaker, all the above does not include the events and tourism marketing we do ourselves via our own websites.

MTV is without doubt one of the biggest brands in the world. Gibraltar can benefit from the brand association to project its forward-looking position to the world. When talking to MTV’s director and producer of Gibraltar Calling when they visited Gibraltar last week they mentioned the fact that they wish to film other programmes for their channel here, since Gibraltar has a lot to offer in cultural and social events in unique surroundings and geographical position.

Now that the event is being filmed, Gibraltar will have a lasting legacy from the festival.

Multiple high-quality media assets will be generated which can be used by other Government agencies to promote Gibraltar in particular as a music and cultural destination.

Gibraltar has been able to leverage MTV's relationship with artists to attract top talent on excellent commercial terms. Within the festival industry, the current line-up is being seen as of a very high standard. It contains some artists who have performed in the Glastonbury Festival last weekend.

One important aspect of the value of this event is the fact that many of the tickets sold to date for the Gibraltar Calling are to people who intend to come to Gibraltar for the event.

We expect to sell many more than we did last year, but just taking the same figures of the last years GMF, where we had over 2500 people from aboard coming, it means that the economy in general benefits in the region of £500,000.

Therefore, Mr Speaker, taken together only the estimate media and visitor value of the event to our economy can easily be said to be in the region of £2.2m.

These are obviously very conservative estimates and do not include the cultural, social and all the other benefits to our community generally.

GAMPA

In the 2011 Manifesto we committed to three main things that, we believe to be of great benefit to our society. These are learning an instrument, having a youth orchestra and the setting up of an academy of performing arts.

I am delighted to say that the Academy called The Gibraltar Academy of Music and Performing Art (GAMPA) was set up in September 2015 at 63 Flat Bastion Magazine, Flat Bastion Road.

For this I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Mr Freddie Gomez for having cleaned up, looked after and maintained Flat Bastion Magazine for many years. He did this voluntarily without any help from the government at the time. After he had been using the premises for years he handed it back to Government and he is thrilled that his hard work is now used for the community in the form of the Academy.

Since it was setup it has proved a great success so much so that it has already outgrown these premises and GAMPA is currently outsourcing spaces in South Barrack Road Recreation rooms as well as the drama studio and music room in Bayside Comprehensive School.

Mr Speaker, we are looking at alternative premises in order to house all the students in the same venue and hold all classes in a centralised place.

When GAMPA initiated the “Learn an Instrument” Campaign, one of the commitments in our manifesto, they realised that many children did not know the variety of instruments that there are. Therefore they offered a total of 32 places for middle school children to learn instruments such as Brass, Flute, Saxophone and Clarinet. This promotion has been extremely positive.

GAMPA has developed the Infant Music Club, where children from as young as 4 years old can start learning an instrument and become interested in music.

GAMPA has become the Official representatives of “Charanga Music” in Gibraltar. More than 10,000 teachers use Charanga programmes in over 3,000 schools. It produces engaging, exciting, innovative digital music teaching and learning resources in both primary and secondary schools to support music teachers and their students.

GAMPA has been working very closely with the Parasol Foundation in order to develop “The Parasol Foundation Scholarship Programme”. This programme has been designed to help the next generation of musicians and actors develop their skills with more teaching contact and prep time. This programme has been renewed for another year.

Mr Speaker, two Scholarships for “Excellence and Promise” were offered to students who show a high level of skill or have the potential to excel. Three Scholarships were offered to beginners who showed potential and who had achieved a considerable amount in a short space of time.

Ensemble Scholarships is open to all students of the Academy. GAMPA has been offering String Ensemble, Woodwind Ensemble, Corps of Drums, Aural Skills and Vocal Ensemble Classes in order to get children accustomed to playing as part of a group. This will develop their ensemble skills with a view to having the children play together to fulfil another manifesto commitment which is the formation of a Youth Orchestra. These classes have no maximum limit of students.

Further Scholarships were offered to students with Financial Hardships, given that these Extra- curricular activities can prove to be expensive if a student feels they really want to dedicate themselves to a certain series of classes.

All in all the success of GAMPA has been such that we are looking at expanding their premises to be able to cope with the demand.

Together with HM Government, the Parasol Foundation have also supported the Academy with a Scholarship for Drama and by purchasing Music books in order to complete the Academy’s Library as well as the funding of more instruments.

The ABRSM exams have been taking place in Gibraltar for decades under the supervision and management of College of Further Education. Since the Academy was set up and the fact that it has great facilities they now house the practical exams there.

It is important to note that there are also singing and performing courses available of which recognised examinations have been conducted.

GAMPA has therefore become an examination centre for the ABRSM. The Trinity Rock and Pop Exams that have proved to be very successful and Trinity College London Drama exam.

Every exam has been allocated a level and a number of credits in the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. GAMPA is very proud to be offering tuition and examination opportunities to students who choose to study both Classical and Rock and Pop music as well as Acting and Drama.

GBC

I now turn to the media, which forms part of my responsibilities for the first time.

I have been able to work closely with the Chief Executive of our National Broadcaster GBC to ensure that standards of services are maintained and where possible improved.

GBC is now a far cry from the television and radio station of just five years ago due to the lack of investment by the previous administration, with huge improvements having been carried out to its programming since then. This is thanks to the funding provided by our Government and the commitment of its management and staff to make it work.

However, the efforts have paid off. The feedback received by the Corporation continues to suggest that a majority of viewers and listeners enjoy GBC Television and Radio Gibraltar’s programming. ‘Live’ and ‘On Demand’ programmes via GBC Online have a good following too, as do their social media platforms, where GBC News is relied upon as an authoritative and reliable source by thousands.

TV shows such as the recent “Port Ops” that focused on activities in the Gibraltar harbour; “The Collectors” that showed the unusual collections owned by several Gibraltarians; and “Rock Explorers” that every week showed a different element of local natural history, are shows that would only be produced by a local channel, proving GBC’s value to the community.

There has been a significant number of local series and specials produced during the past twelve months, with these including the Ordination of Bishop Zammitt, which was broadcast live from Malta, as well as his Installation at the Cathedral of Saint Mary the Crowned that was also covered live. This year GBC has also carried live several Gibraltar-related political events from Westminster and the United Nations ensuring viewers and listeners remain well informed on issues that affect them. This is also the case with respect to the current Island Games in Gotland, from where a team of GBC journalists and producers are reporting on Gibraltar’s participation.

In addition, the “GBC Sports Awards”, which has become a firm fixture of the annual social calendar, was once again aired in March, and I take this opportunity to once again congratulate the winners of these much deserved trophies. As Minister for the Media and Sports, I am really pleased that GBC has taken this initiative in which Sportsmen and women are rewarded for the hard work and efforts they put in to be able to at times reach very high standards at international level.

Mr Speaker, I must also mention the GBC Open Day, which last Christmas raised an incredible £142,000!!! The Open Day is an institution on the Rock. It is extremely gratifying that our national broadcaster leads on the event, which is followed by practically everyone in Gibraltar, knowing that their donations will help a variety of local worthy causes.

The last twelve months have also seen several staff changes at Broadcasting House, with some of the household names we have become used to over the years either retiring or leaving to pursue other projects. In particular, I would like to thank James Neish, Christine Clifton-Psaila and Stephen Neish for their many years of service to the Corporation, while wishing to the new faces and voices who have replaced them every success in their new careers.

This Government continues to provide GBC the funding required to keep up with technology. This year, the focus has been on the replacement of the ageing TV studio lighting grid with much more environmentally-friendly LED lights, the first phase of which has now been completed. The second phase of this project will take place during this financial year. The station's satellite transmission facilities have also been upgraded, including the replacement of two twenty-five year old dishes with new motorized ones that will allow greater reliability and flexibility for satellite reception, which is being used more frequently as GBC provides coverage of a greater number of international events, including football.

Mr Speaker, GBC is swimming against a tide of international broadcasters that are available locally, which is not easy, but proves its worth by providing well-produced local content and quality imported programmes. However, it does so from a building that is far from ideal and which in all honesty has seen better days.

It therefore remains this Government’s intention to relocate GBC, for the Corporation to enjoy the working conditions the staff deserves, and which will no doubt encourage them to build on their current successes.

As happens in all areas, there is always room for improvement too.

I therefore must pay tribute to the around 80 staff employed by GBC, who are at all levels ensuring that Gibraltar has a successful public service broadcaster with high editorial standards, who give of their free time to ensure the Open Day’s success, as well as to the members of the public and commercial sector who support it and give so generously and that reflects the Gibraltarian identity through numerous locally-produced programmes.

YOUTH SERVICE

Mr Speaker, moving on the Youth Service I can announce that it has undergone a number of significant changes, most noticeably within its structure and staffing arrangements.

All the administration that was working from Montagu Bastion Youth Centre has now been transferred to the City Hall. This has meant that the supporting role to the service has increased since they can now double up with officers based at the main office of the Ministry of Culture.

The qualified compliment of Youth and Community Workers can work from the Youth Centre and can dedicate their time to direct contact with young people.

The compliment of the Youth Service now consists of a Principal Youth and Community Worker, two seniors and 5 JNC qualified YCW's.

It is great to have seen that two of these YCW's have gained their qualifications locally via courses accredited by De Montfort University in Leicester.

One further change implemented by our Government recently is that of regularising the employment status of all Youth Support Workers.

These workers who are complimentary to the work that YCW's do are no longer on a supply basis but on a contract that gives them continuity. They have also been trained in order to raise the standard of work done to achieve best practice.

Since the New Dawn 2011 we have been keen for the Youth Service to encourage volunteers to help deliver Youth Work.

The House will recall that volunteers were done away with by the previous government. In contrast, we believe that volunteers in the past contributed many positive things to the service and we have brought them back.

Therefore the Youth Service has introduced to everyone interested in working with youngsters a locally recognised and assessed course in ‘Understanding Youth Work’ for volunteers and support workers.

This year Trainees were able to select the assessed or non-assessed route (the non-assessed route offered the trainee a certificate of attendance along with the chance to volunteer their services to various youth work projects). Due to the success of our training, we have once again offered Understanding Youth Work training to Youth Work trainees who started the course as from October 2016 and will be completing their training this Friday.

Professional development is paramount for youth workers and to that end we are committed to supporting the staff to be able to train and learn new innovative ways to be able to deliver an excellent service. From the principal youth worker and his seniors who have undergone training on issues relating to Grievance, Discipline and Dismissals to training to all others in the service courses to do with Safeguarding Children, Health and Safety, First Aid at Work, Basic Fire and Rescue Training.

The Youth Service has been part of the Multi-agency Child Protection Committee since it was formed in 2015.

It is imperative that child protection is at the heart of all agencies that are in contact with children.

The Youth Service is a member of the Child Protection Committee and following a request by the Care Agency in November 2015, the Youth Service agreed to join the Safeguarding Children and Young People training team as from January 2016.

Mr Speaker, the Youth Service has increased its commitment to support Child Protection in Gibraltar. They have subscribed to Sign of Safety Model by committing themselves to taking a multi- agency approach in managing safeguarding issues and placing the welfare of young people at the heart of everything that they do.

In addition, the Youth Service will very soon be in a position to support the Care Agency by committing a senior member of staff to becoming a Safeguarding Children Tier 2 trainer for the Multi-Agency team.

All Youth Service staff underwent a very successful weekend of Personal Professional development training, taking off their own time, which focused on the importance of Supervision in Youth Work.

Since the MOU was signed by the Youth Service and the RGP they have been able to build and establish a professional relationship of trust that has made significant progress in many areas and has improved the services to young people and the Community as a whole.

As an example the RGP Charity Committee has helped in the funding a residential weekend away for youngsters in which some officers accompanied them.
In turn the RGP have benefitted from the youth service since, they are providing training to new recruits regarding working with Young people in our community.

This partnership has also allowed both entities to be able to work with the neighbourhood and to be able to understand community problems more closely.

Our Government continuously invest in refurbishing our youth clubs, the Plater, Dolphins and Laguna Youth Clubs have undergone some significant interior refurbishment works that are complimented by new, modern and up to date Kitchens for young people to use and learn necessary life skills.

One facility, which we have invested in and will soon be complete, is that of the Girl Guides Hut in the Upper Rock. This Hut could no longer be used since it was not fit for purpose. We found that the previous administration had made plans for this but never started them. The Hut will see a new floor added to accommodate more beds. It will have a new kitchen and it will be a building accessible to all. The Girl Guides do a great job in forming the lives of young Girls and deserve the refurbishment.

Therefore, Mr Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to be able to deliver a state of the art premises where they can continue to do the magnificent work that they do.

Our government values the contribution of the Youth Advisory Council, which already has representatives from the Duke of Edinburgh, Girl Guides and Scouts. We have therefore seen it fit to expand its membership to include the RGP, Education Department, GHA, Care Agency, the St Johns Ambulance and the Drugs Coordinator. All these entities have a lot to contribute in helping deliver quality youth work.

Youth Forum

Further to the contribution of the Council, as Minister for Youth, I felt it was important to give young people a voice in our community.

The Youth Service set up a number of meetings with Young people where they could raise any issues they had. This year members of the youth forum focused mainly on issues regarding Education.

As a result of these meetings, young people have had the opportunity to meet with the Minister for Education Dr Cortes, the Director of Education, the Principal Youth officer and myself at the Youth Centre to discuss the issues that concern them. The Youth Service is working closely with these young people so that the issues raised by them are taken seriously and acted upon.

There are many projects that are run by the Youth Service; these range from developing their photographic and filming skills to personal & social development opportunities and fun activities.

The Luce Foundation project has allowed youngsters to attend residential weeks where they experience activities, which deal with environmental issues, citizenship, Personal, Social and Health Education and challenge them to take life decisions to be able to be responsible citizens.

Mental Health is an issue, which concerns young people and to this end not only have the youth service engaged them in helping fund raise for Clubhouse but they have also discussed with the GHA officials how a mental health service for children and young people could be set up.

Drugs, Cyber Bullying and Youth Justice are also issues that the Youth Service raises in forums to advice government.

I will not go through all the projects that the youth service have provided for our youngsters throughout the year, since these are too numerous to mention, but one that sticks out was winning the first prize in the youth section category in this year’s cavalcade.

This was the result of sheer hard work and I would like to congratulate them on this achievement.

KBLC

Mr Speaker, the Kings’ Bastion Leisure Centre also comes under my remit as Minister for Leisure.

When we came into Government in 2011 KBLC was a massive drain to the economy. It was costing £2.6m per annum with only a mere £60,000 in revenue.

After making changes and terminating lucrative contracts which were signed by the previous administration and reforming the way in which it was run we are happy that this this deficit is being reduced.

Employees at the KBLC were employed by the GSLA. The deficit was reduced by transferring these employees to the Bayside Complex where they were asking for more staff. A contract for the Leisure Centre was then agreed with other GSLA employees who formed their own company for that purpose. This reduced the running cost.

Now the KBLC is costing annually £1.6M and is making revenues of £1/2m and increasing every year.

As can be seen KBLC, decreased their running cost by £1m from £2.6m to £1.6m and have increased the income from £60,000 to £500,000 resulting in a significant reduction in the overall running costs. At the same time, they have carried out the following improvements to the facilities:

Fitness Gym

A complete overhaul of the Men/Ladies Changing Rooms, including the installation of new shower units and better plumbing has taken place in the fitness gym. All the old equipment has been replaced with new equipment and an outdoor Gym has been created in the back patio.

The amusement arcade has seen the replacement of worn out carpet tiles with high quality fitted carpets in all the Game vaults. Vaults re-painted in bright colours for better ambience. 13 new machines added to the Arcade. Junior Bowling fully refurbished in a new style.

KBLC has cladded the ceiling and refurbished the Line Wall Road entrance to match the works carried out at the Main Entrance and are in the process of re-painting all the ironmongery, including columns and gates, on the Line Wall facade of the building. On the second floor, the Cinema foyer area and toilet corridor has been re-painted, some damaged glass panels around the terrace areas have been replaced.

The entrance tunnel and toilet passage walls were painted/cladded with wood/face bricks.

Ice Rink

Mr Speaker, in the Ice Rink a new skirting has been fitted to complete the refurbishment that was started in 2015.

I would like to take this opportunity to say that the running cost of the ice rink is very high.

Whoever thought of putting the ice rink on a second floor did not contemplate the amount of money it would cost in electricity. It’s like having a fridge all day opened in the beach in the month of August.

We are now looking at the possibility of putting solar panels on the roof but we are finding it difficult due to the fact that even the roof is slanting to the wrong way.

Leisure Management Service (LMS) who is contracted to run KBLC has agreed with the GSLA to provide Basic Maintenance services at the Bayside Complex and has employed an additional maintenance staff member to cope with the extra work. This will provide more income to help them meet their running costs.

During the current financial year LMS will be upgrading the consoles and software used in the Bowling Alley and will start work on replacing the bowling ceiling as well as installing LED screen panels for the back end of the bowling lanes. The latter will be useful in attracting marketing revenue.

LMS on behalf of KBLC has entered into an agreement with the Gibraltar International Airport authorities for the provision of a children’s Play Area within the Departure Lounge of the airport, where they will install some more arcade machines.

Both these initiatives will provide additional income streams for KBLC that will help them to reduce their overall running costs. I would like to congratulate both the management and staff of LMS for having taken the task of running the Leisure Centre with a budget of less than a million from the previous set up and at the same time improving all the facilities.

A far cry from what we inherited in 2011, Mr Speaker.

Sport

I now move on to my ministerial responsibility for sport.

Phase One of the works at the GSLA Swimming Pool complex have been completed with Phase Two and final completion scheduled for this summer (August).

The works have included the installation of a second filter for the Accessible Pool as well as the installation of systems that will automate chemical dosing, backwashes and automatic readings of water turbidity.

Improvements are already noticeable in terms of efficiency and once completed the reconfiguration will result in savings in:


1) Chemical consumption


2) Water consumption.

3) Maintenance costs.

It is important to recall that the photovoltaic panels cost 680,000 of which 290,000 came from EU funding which represented 390,000 total cost has now been paid from the savings made.

The savings to date are approximately 720,000. Not only are we making these savings with the photovoltaic panels but they are producing electricity in excess to what the swimming pool requires and are feeding this to the main grid. The best of the system is that the facility is functioning at virtually 0% carbon emission.

Additionally, these works form part of a scheme to offer the general public an enhanced service resulting in the facility opening seven days a week.

Improvements are scheduled to take place in many areas of the Bayside Sports Complex.

To begin with and due to the fact that the three padel tennis courts are extremely popular they have suffered a significant amount of wear and tear and therefore they will be resurfaced after the Gibraltar Calling Music Festival in September. As the courts usage diminishes during the summer months the lifespan of the turf can be extended until September.

Currently the turfs of these courts are laid over sand substrate and users have been complaining that this is causing issues with the playability of the surface and in particular ball bounce. Therefore the resurfacing will also include this time round the laying of a porous concrete base to replace the current sand substrate. This will resolve the current issues such as ball bounce.

Mr Speaker, the Boathouse area will undergo an extensive refurbishment after the summer.

The building which, has been extensively used since it was built over 10 years ago, requires works to address water ingress as well as requiring improvements to general areas. It has been the temporary home of the Gibraltar Football Association for the last 4 years with the GFA moving out. It will continue to house the associations who currently hold office space but will also become the official home of the Gibraltar Island Games 2019 Organising Committee including the Games Director.

As is well known the GSLA is charged with looking after the playgrounds and parks around Gibraltar. Within the GSLA there is a maintenance team who regularly go round all the playgrounds and parks maintaining, repairing and/or replacing the equipment.

All playgrounds and parks now have a notice which provides a hotline number for the public to report anything that may need repair.

The team will go out to address these issues on the spot, make safe and/or take away to repair.

Apart from the continuous maintenance, every Financial Year there will be a continued programme of upgrades to the parks and playgrounds. The Chilton Court Housing Estate has been earmarked as an area that requires attention as it’s an old park and play area that was inherited when the estate was transferred to the Government. Various options are currently being considered for the area with the Tenants Association liaising closely with the GSLA.

The Government via the GSLA has been involved with the following events locally and internationally both at a logistical and financial level:-

• UEFA Football and Futsal competitions
• FIBA Basketball Small countries competitions 

• World Futsal qualifiers
• Gibraltar World Pool Masters
• World Snooker Gibraltar Open
• a number of EuroHockey Club Championships at different 
levels from youth to ladies and men's. 

• The Darts,
• Tradewise Chess Tournament
• Junior Chess
• Backgammon, which is part of the European Tour
• Motor Boat Racing
• Gibraltar Squash Open 

• Gibraltar International Regatta 

• Rock Masters Ten Pin Bowling 

• International Dog Shows 

• Harley Davidson Rally 

• Classic Vehicle Rally 

• International Song Festival

• In addition, the GSLA offers logistical support and facilities for

local sports associations to complete their leagues and development programmes throughout the year as well as assisting schools in fulfilling their P.E curriculum both at the Bayside Sports Centre and at the GSLA Swimming Pool complex. 
Summer Sports Programme/ Stay and Play programme 
The Summer Sports & Leisure Programme 2016 once again improved on its previous year’s attendance registering over 9500 throughout its different elements over six weeks. 
The Sports Train offered sporting and leadership activities every weekday morning for 7 to 14 year old Children. The Children’s Corner offered appropriate sport and recreational activities, three days per week, for 5 to 6 year olds. The Family Evening Sessions noticed a marked improvement in attendance with sessions attracting groups totalling 40 on occasions. 
The Stay and Play programme offered sport, physical, arts and leisure activities for children with disabilities five days per week. This element in particular needed to review its scheduling given the significantly higher attendances and with this in mind the temporary staff complement has been increased for the upcoming programme. In addition, the Care Agency will be actively involved in the induction training programme for 2017 adding to the quality of delivery whilst safeguarding the interests of leaders and users alike. 
The GSLA also worked in partnership with Sports Associations (28 in total) to provide a wide range of sports coaching courses and taster sessions for children and young people. Other positive leisure providers including Government’s Ministry of Culture, Department of the Environment, the Gibraltar Health Authority the RGP, St John Ambulance and ChildLine also offered the children and young people of Gibraltar a diverse range of activities including arts and crafts, dance, musical appreciation, yoga, RGP awareness, dog handling, Young Lifesavers Award and historical walks to name but a few.

Such is the success of the programme that the sponsorship arrangement with NatWest has been extended and we are grateful for their continued support.

The Government via the Gibraltar Sports Advisory Council (GSAC), which is administered by the GSLA, has continued to support local athletes/teams when travelling abroad to Official International competitions. The GSLA advocates the fact that it is not purely enough to be a member of the International Governing bodies but local entities need to be active within them either by participation at events/competitions or by participation at Congresses or Annual General Meetings.

Sports Development initiatives have also been supported with a view to increasing the qualifications, knowledge base and experiences of local coaches and administrators. This is particularly relevant, as it will reduce the need for the importation of officials for the 2019 Island Games. Part of the “legacy” element of the Games is not just physical infrastructure but the knowledge base and experience gained in the lead up and during the Games that will improve the chances of Gibraltar being represented internationally as umpires, officials etc. This increased pool of qualified sportsmen and women will raise Gibraltar’s profile even higher as a host location for International events.

In addition, some individuals who presented cases for financial support under the “Elite Athlete” category have been supported. Applications were considered by the relevant sub-committee, on a case-by-case basis.

The review of the guidelines for registration of sporting associations has been completed with these now becoming criteria. Registered sports associations, leisure providers and commercial entities have been informed of the new requirements and if is not met it will result in allocations and/or funding being withheld. The main points to note are regarding training with all coaches and leisure providers having to attend relevant Safeguarding Children and Young People workshops, the nomination of Welfare Officers within registered governing bodies, the submission ofan up to date Child Protection Policy and proof of RGP vetting or relevant documentation from country of origin. The GSLA will assist all those concerned with training and support and whilst there will be a transitional period whilst training is arranged and undertaken in the short term the criteria will be stringently enforced in the future.

Island Games 2019

Preparations for the 2019 Island Games are well underway and the Organising committee led by Linda Alvarez is making significant progress in key issues such as accommodation, travel logistics and sport specific requirements. There is regular contact with those associations involved in the Games and with other key stakeholders like the RGP, GHA, Technical Services Department to name but a few. Several members of the Organising committee are now in Gotland where Gibraltar will host an information evening for all the other member islands to provide an update. In addition, meetings have also been scheduled with IIGA Executive Committee and several reps will also address the Annual General Meeting held as part of the Games in Gotland.

A Complete Transformation for all Sports in Gibraltar

The Government announced on 18th April that an agreement had been reached with the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) on the construction of a UEFA Category 4 National Football Stadium in Gibraltar. It is well known publicly that UEFA initially had objection to the Victoria Stadium as the venue for the new Stadium.

The Government had been assisting the GFA with a view to identifying an alternative site for the construction of such a stadium in Gibraltar.

On the 20th March 2017, the GFA wrote to the Government informing that all sites it had considered, in particular Europa Point and Lathbury Parade, had turned out to be unviable for a number of reasons. The GFA informed the Government that it had explained its predicament to UEFA who, in the circumstances, accepted the lifting of standing objection to the Victoria Stadium on condition that the GFA acquired exclusive ownership of the Victoria Stadium.

Government therefore happily acceded to this request. Given the current importance of that site to all other sport in Gibraltar, the government agreed to sell the site of the Victoria to the GFA for £16.5m which represents fair value for the site and the cost of relocation of the sports that presently use that site.

The sale includes the old Victoria Sports Hall and the right to redevelop the area of Winston Churchill Avenue and the adjacent petrol station upon the relocation of the latter after the opening of the tunnel under the runway.

The sale does NOT include the Tercentenary Hall or the rest of the Bayside Sports Complex.

The sum of £16.5m is the amount that the Government will invest in re-providing the sports facilities presently provided for at the Victoria Stadium.

In addition, the GFA will continue to allow the use of the Victoria Stadium for a number of community events and school use where this can be de-conflicted from the GFA’s own football requirements, which will then have priority on that site.

The GFA will pay for the purchase in three instalments with funds it will receive exclusively from UEFA and FIFA.

Two instalments of £5m each will be paid in the current 2017/18 financial year. A third payment of £6.5m will be paid in the financial year 2018/19.

In addition, the GFA will invest in the region of £15m in the redevelopment of the Victoria Stadium and the old Sports Hall.

As a result, Gibraltar will enjoy a National Football Stadium which, will be developed at no cost at all to the taxpayer.

Benefits for All Other Sports

The Government will be investing the entirety of the sum of £16.5m paid for the Victoria Stadium in the redevelopment of the sporting infrastructure of Gibraltar.

It will do so for the purpose of leading a total revolution and transformation of the sporting facilities available in Gibraltar and will do so in time for the 2019 Island Games.

Mr Speaker, all of these facilities will be developed by the Government, as Government projects, but will nonetheless be submitted to the Developing & Planning Commission in line with current practice and will be developed with the new rules on accessibility of buildings forming part of the planning process. In addition, the Ministry for Sport will continue to work with the GFA and all the relevant sporting organisations and representative bodies in order to get the results right on this investment in sport in Gibraltar.

In relation to the question of re-providing or re-siting sporting facilities we will be developing the site of Lathbury where there will be an 800 seater, 400m, 8 lane track. This athletics stadium facility for athletics, which will also be general purpose sports field and will be made available to football and other sports in Gibraltar. This facility will therefore be larger than the current track at the Victoria Stadium.

Within the Lathbury Complex a 52m pool will be built which will fulfil yet another of our manifesto commitments.

This new swimming pool will be a 52m, eight-lane pool with seating capacity for around400 spectators. The Gibraltar Amateur Swimming Association is assisting the Government to ensure that this new pool facility complies with all international requirements.

A full size football ground, which can double up as training pitches, especially for children, will be provided. This will be available to the GFA, to all the GFA league clubs as well as to Rugby.

This facility will include a communications centre, a boardroom and press area, lecture rooms, an infirmary and coaching and anti-doping rooms.

In addition, a gym and indoor warm up area will be provided.

New offices for the Gibraltar Amateur Athletics Association for the Gibraltar Amateur Swimming Association are also being developed as part of this new and exciting facility.

The whole area will also benefit from a huge underground parking/storage area. Facilities for a cafeteria will also be provided.
The Athletics and playing field facility is anticipated to be ready by December 2018.

Europa Point Complex

A full 100m x 68m +10m dead ball international size Rugby ground, a cricket pitch and football training pitches will be constructed in a facility which will also be owned by the Government but run by a trust that will be composed of the sports that will be using it and Government.

The Government is working closely with the Gibraltar Rugby Football Union on the development of the Rugby pitch in order to ensure that it complies with the necessary international standards. In addition to the Rugby pitch, the facilities at Europa will provide for a National Rugby Clubhouse.

The provision of facilities for an oval 120x110m is also catered for in this redevelopment. Three indoor and three outdoor cricket nets will also be provided. The Government is working closely with the Gibraltar Cricket Association to ensure that the development complies with the relevant international criteria. In addition, a new, modern and fit for purpose Clubhouse and Pavilion will be provided for the Gibraltar Cricket Association. The outdoor facilities will have 1200 seater spectator stands.

Importantly, the Europa sports redevelopment will provide a 42-bed dormitory for visiting sporting associations and teams. This will be available to teams and associations of all sports and will assist in the development of Gibraltar as a centre for sports training.

The development at Europa will include a new 49m x 33m Sports Hall and Events Space. This facility will be multi-functional. Also included will be six new squash courts with provision for 80 audience seats. Darts will have 12 practice lanes provided (4m x 10m). Additionally boardrooms, offices, lecture rooms, a gym, treatment rooms etc. will be provided, together with a rehabilitation centre. This sports hall will replace the Old Victoria Sports Hall, whichwill nonetheless, still be made available to the whole community by the GFA in a manner that de-conflicts from their own need for it. The Europa Sports Hall will provide for Futsal, Basketball, Netball, Volleyball and Badminton, as well as for all other indoor sports.

None of the developments at Europa impinge on the existing playing facilities for children or the heritage assets in the area.

The Government’s plans also provide for the construction of a much needed, new facility for Special Olympics Gibraltar. The development will also be in the Europa area. The facility will be attached to a further, new, community sports hall and gymnasium with treatment and changing facilities as well as a bar, restaurant and kitchen.

The technical designs in respect of the new Special Olympics facilities will have the following facilities: A Sports hall, Gym, Male and female changing rooms, Treatment room, Office, bar, restaurant and kitchen.

These facilities although built for our Special Olympians will be a place which all other sports associations and entities will be able to use. The concept of these facilities is for it to be inclusive and accessible to all.

The construction of outdoor and indoor sporting facilities in the area of Europa Point for all sports will also be helpful in the development of the University of Gibraltar and its ability to offer sporting-related courses as well as making sporting facilities available to students of the University as it grows and expands.

The construction of the new Europa Sports Hall and Events Space at Europa will require the relocation of the existing facilities of the Gibraltar Target Shooting Association. The Government is presently engaged in discussions with the committee of the GTSA on the development of a new shooting range. The Government is also already in contact with the International Sports Shooting Federation in order to ensure compliance of any new facility with the international requirements for sports shooting.

In conclusion

Be it the changes we have implemented in relation to the mess of the defunct Gibraltar Cultural and Heritage Agency, be it the reforms we have carried out at the Kings’ Bastion Leisure Centre, be it increasing the funding to our cultural fraternity, be it increasing of the funding of our Sporting Associations, be it the construction of a New Girl Guides Hut in the Upper Rock, be it the hosting of the Island Games in 2019, be it the Europa Point Complex, be it the Lathbury Swimming and Athletics Centre, be it the wonderful Special Olympics Complex, be it the partnership we have done with MTV in relation to the Gibraltar Calling Festival, no one can question the advances that this government have made and will continue to make in the governance and development of our country.

The future is bright and all our citizens know that there can only be one way forward and that is to invest in our people.

I am honoured to be part of a Government that is forward thinking and has a clear vision. From the way we are dealing with Brexit to the way we deal with day-to-day issues and all other aspects of governance.

I would like to thank all those NGO’s such as the Youth Advisory Council, The Youth Forum, the Gibraltar Sports Advisory Council, all the cultural groups from the arts, drama, photographic and dance fraternity.

All the members of the Governing Bodies of those sports who are involved in delivering state of the art facilities which will leave a lasting Legacy well after the Island Games has passed, the Organising Committee of the Island Games who do this without any financial interest. The team at AKS and at Orfila’s, who are producing all the architectural and technical designs for all the sporting and cultural projects with which I am involved. Those at Technical Services who help me steer these projects.

Thank you to all

Thanks also goes to the staff, at Gibraltar Cultural Services, at Gibraltar Academy of Music and Performing Arts, at Leisure Management Services from Kings’ Bastion Leisure Centre, at the Gibraltar Sports and Leisure Authority, at GBC, at the Youth Service and last but definitely not least my staff at the Ministry of Culture without whom I would not be able to implement all the positive policies and manifesto commitments with which I am involved.

Thank you Mr Speaker.