Children's Play Areas (Hansard, 18 July 2002)

§ Mr. Caborn

I have been asked to reply.

In Wales, responsibility for Children's Play issues rests with the National Assembly for Wales, who are in the process of producing a play policy for Wales, and not with Whitehall Departments, who are only responsible for play matters in England.

In December 2000, DCMS produced a guidance document for English local authorities entitled "Creating Opportunities", which encourages local authorities to develop and implement Local Cultural Strategies. The guidance explicitly lists play as something to be within the scope of cultural strategies, encompassing: children's play, playgrounds and play activities, parks and open spaces.

DCMS also funded "Play as Culture", researched and published by Playlink, a document which provides detailed guidance about incorporating play in cultural strategies. It was co-sponsored by the Department for Education and Skills (DIES) and the then Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, and was publicised and disseminated via the Local Government Association (LGA), the Institute of Leisure and Management and Early Years Partnerships. There is also soon to be a weblink directly to the document on the Playlink website from the DCMS website and a second round of distribution is about to begin.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently revising "Planning Policy Guidance note 17: Sports, Recreation and Open Space" (PPG17) which will provide guidance on the provision of a full range of urban open spaces, including play space. The revision, along with associated good practice guidance, will provide guidance for improving local assessments of need for such spaces

531W

and for carrying out audits of existing spaces. While these will encourage the setting of local standards for provision of new spaces, they will not give any specific guidance on the size of play spaces.