§ 28. Mr. Barnesasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when the Parker Morris minimum standard for play space will become mandatory in the case of local authority housing schemes submitted to him for subsidy or loan sanction.
§ Mr. GreenwoodI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Eton and Slough (Miss Lestor) on 18th July.—[Vol. 750, c. 209.]
§ Mr. BarnesDoes my right hon. Friend not agree that it is a pity that one in four of the major housing authorities are apparently not providing play space on their estates with flats? Would he not agree that for families with small children play space is as important as living space?
§ Mr. GreenwoodI agree very much with what my hon. Friend has said. The National Joint Committee of Working Women Organisations raised this with the Ministry in 1962 and we have been carrying out a survey recently under the direction of the research and development group. It is our intention to see that as many local authorities as find it 309 practicable to do so provide play space. We still find it difficult to decide what form the play space should take and what kind of play space is appropriate under special circumstances.