---

Playgrounds: Finance

Answer

Decisions have now been taken on savings to the 2010-11 play capital budget. A total of £20.8 million has been saved from this years play budget, reducing the original figure from £75 million to £54.2 million.The Department wrote to local authorities in July asking them to give us information on the status of their 2010-11 play projects. We said the Department would cover the cost of play areas which local authorities had already completed this year or where groundwork had already started and, subject to affordability, ensure that local authorities did not need to break any contractual commitments they had already entered into.I am pleased to be able to report that we have been able to achieve this aim. All local authorities will receive almost two-thirds of their original allocations and we have also provided additional funding to 49 authorities who have contractual commitments that would otherwise exceed their revised allocation.The Secretary of State has written to local authorities informing them of the completion of the savings exercise, notifying them of their revised play capital funding allocations for this financial year and reminding them that the ring-fence has been removed from this grant in order to provide local authorities with more flexibility to manage their own local budgets.It is now for local authorities and their partners to make decisions on which local projects progress. There will be no centrally made judgement on which individual projects progress.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

18500; 518 c595-6W

Session

2010-12

Subjects

Construction Playgrounds

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk