Playing Fields (Hansard, 20 January 1982)

§ 6. Mr. McNally
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from national sporting bodies on the present and future provision of playing fields by local authorities.

§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. Neil Macfarlane)
The Football Association has written to me about the possible sale of school playing fields by local education authorities. I am aware also that the Sports Council and the Central Council for Physical Recreation have expressed concern on this issue. One of the national newspapers has given me a list of allegedly threatened playing fields, which I am having checked through the regional councils for sport and recreation.

§ Mr. McNally
Will the Minister state whether it is the Government's intention that local authorities should sell playing fields for building speculation? If not, will he meet a delegation of interested Members and representatives of sports associations who are worried about the implications of the regulations? Having listened to their representations, will he discuss with the Secretary of State for Education and Science an amendment to remove that threat to school playing fields and other recreation facilities?

§ Mr. Macfarlane
It is not the Government's intention to sell off those premises and facilities. I shall try to acquaint the House with the background. The Department of Education and Science regulations merely set new minimum standards for school playing fields. In some areas that could lead to increases in schools' usable sports facilities. I am as concerned as are the hon. Gentleman and other hon. Members. That is why I have asked the regional councils for sport and recreation to check on what is happening in those counties. I shall reserve judgment on whether further meetings are necessary until I have that information. A number of authorities have sold land in recent months, just as they have in recent years. That is nothing new. The regulations set new minimum standards.

§ Mr. Alan Clark
What representations have been received from national sporting bodies, or would my hon. Friend like to tell us a little more about the extraordinary episode last month, when he tried to exert pressure on the secretary of the Football Association to drop the bulldog logo as our World Cup emblem, on the ground that the Spaniards might find it provocative? Does he agree that, even on the most generous interpretation, his responsibilities for sport are somewhat amorphous and that excessive zeal in defending foreign sensibilities is not among them?

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. It is up to the Minister whether he answers that supplementary question. It is a little remote from the original question.

§ Mr. Macfarlane
By your leave, Mr. Speaker. I have had no representations from the Football Association on the reports in the press. I admire my hon. Friend's versatility in introducing that subject.

§ Mr. Denis Howell
If the Minister does not believe that the new regulations and another set on selling playing fields in higher education establishments will lead to the sales of those facilities, why did he tell the conference of the Central Council for Physical Recreation that he expected the new document to lead to the sale of the 267 playing fields at such schools? Is he not alarmed at the evidence? We welcome the fact that he is consulting the regional councils, but will he ensure that no playing field is sold if it is capable of dual use, especially in areas of deprivation? Will he also ensure that the National Playing Fields Association's standard of six acres of playing field per 1,000 population is applied in all cases and that no playing field is sold if that standard is not met?

§ Mr. Macfarlane
I endorse the right hon. Gentleman's remarks about the importance of dual use. At the conference in Bournemouth I stressed the importance of dual use. I said that the Department of Education and Science had conducted a 10 per cent. sample survey to try to find out the extent of use throughout the 105 local education authorities. I want to make it clear that the regulations merely set new minimum standards.

§ Mr. John Carlisle
Does my hon. Friend agree that it ill behoves the former Minister with responsibility for sport, the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Small Heath (Mr. Howell), to talk about dual use of local authority pitches, when the Labour Administration did nothing to help? Does he also agree that part of the reason why local authorities' school pitches cannot be used at weekends is the attitude of narrow-minded school caretakers and their unions?

§ Mr. Macfarlane
My hon. Friend must look at what is happening in many local authorities in the country. I am enormously encouraged by what I have seen. Many local education authorities have put themselves out greatly in the interests of the community. I pay tribute to them. I should like to see more of that coming on stream.

§ Mr. Roy Hughes
Is the Minister aware that there is a considerable shortage of playing fields and that his present policy has united in opposition the Sports Council, the Central Council for Physical Recreation and all the teachers' organisations? Why does he not reconsider the matter?

§ Mr. Macfarlane
It is not a question of reconsideration. If the hon. Gentleman has any examples in his constituency or in the surrounding counties, he should let me know. I shall draw them to the attention of the appropriate regional council for sport and recreation.