THE Wee County’s MSYP has delivered a passionate speech as he successfully introduced a national motion to ensure young people have free access to quality sporting facilities.

Ben Moore, Member of Scottish Youth Parliament for Clackmannanshire, introduced the motion to call on the Scottish Government and local authorities to ensure every young person has access to quality, affordable and accessible sporting facilities.

The motion said that all publicly owned football pitches and outdoor sporting venues should be open and accessible to young people free of charge, especially during periods of holiday and weekends.

Ben delivered a passionate speech in front of 250 people last month, including members from all over Scotland.

More than 91 per cent of them voted in favour, showing the motion gained wide support and popularity.

It came after hundreds of young people from Clackmannanshire responded to a consultation on the issue with 97 per cent agreeing.

Moving forward, Ben is seeking to campaign for the opening of artificial grass turfs in the Wee County so that young people can enjoy sporting opportunities when the pitches are not being used for school or club purposes.

MSYP Ben Moore said: “I call on the local council to open up astro turfs for young people and stop the unnecessary locking of these valuable pieces of infrastructure which can provide a large array of benefits to the local youth community.

“I have no doubts that our council will consider this and I hope that they agree.”

Ben added that Clackmannanshire has an amazing opportunity to get ahead of the game in this respect and deliver for the area’s young people.

READ MORE: Brian Leishman vows to tackle child poverty in Clackmannanshire


He is also about to jointly campaign across Scotland with MSYP Matthew Quinn, representative for Inverclyde, to advocate for decision makers to open up sporting facilities instead of locking them up unnecessarily.

The duo are planning to meet with Scottish Government ministers on the issue and say there are a wide range of benefits sporting facilities can bring in terms of physical and mental health as well as in reducing social isolation.