§ Mr. Roseasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he will lay down minimum safety standards in relation to the construction of apparatus for children's playgrounds;
(2)whether he will send out directives in the form of guidelines on the construction, maintenance and installation of equipment in children's playgrounds and provision of supervision;
(3)whether he will set up a small specialised committee to consider methods of cutting down the large numbers of accidents which occur in children's playgrounds.
§ Mr. ArmstrongI share my hon. Friend's concern about safety in playgrounds. Guidance on the provision of play equipment on housing estates is contained in DOE Circular 79/72, which also includes advice about safety and the prevention of accidents. In view of our concern, however, we contributed to the cost of work by the Research Institute of Consumer Affairs. It made a number of recommendations last year on maintenance, supervision and the design of equipment, and we then sent its report to local authorities.
We are also represented on the Committee of the British Standards Institution, which is devising a new standard for equipment which will be more explicitly related to safety. We understand that it is hoped to promulgate the new standard in the new year. In the light of these and other developments, I do not think further investigations would be helpful at this stage, but we are considering what further guidance to authorities might be appropriate.