Manx government failed to support locally-run pools, commissioner says

The Northern Swimming Pool in Ramsey is one of three local authority-run sites

The Isle of Man government has "failed" to support local authority-run swimming pools, a Ramsey commissioner has said.

A report highlighted a lack of investment at the facilities and Tynwald was asked to support a review into the cost of a full state takeover.

Juan McGuinness said it seemed "wild" for the government to step in as "knights in shining armour" when it "contributed" to the problems.

The Department of Education has been contacted for a response.

The independent review into management of the island's public pools found governance structures were "not fit for purpose" and swimmers faced "pot luck" when it came to the quality of the facilities.

The government had failed to provide effective oversight, the report added.

'Total control'

A full state takeover is one of a number of recommendations outlined in the review, commissioned by the Department of Education Sport and Culture (DESC) and Education Minster Julie Edge is set to ask Tynwald to approve a further report into how much this would cost, due to come back in October.

Chairman of the Northern Swimming Pool Board, Mr McGuinness said the move would be "disingenuous" given the government's failure to enforce standards.

He said one of the problems outlined with the current model was lack of "goals, guidance or oversight, or direction, and that has all come from the education department".

"So it seems strange that the answer is to give the department that has effectively failed the regional pools total control, when they could have just fixed within the current set up", he added.

Mr McGuinness says the government could have fixed things within the current set up

Mr McGuinness said efforts to get government support investing in energy saving measures like LED lightbulbs had been "painful" due to bureaucracy.

"For them to step in as the knights in shining armour for a problem that they've effectively contributed to, it just seems wild", he said.