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School Sports Funding

I am grateful, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am quoting from The Daily Telegraph. The hon. Member for Vauxhall said:"““Trying to stop the sale of playing fields was another uphill battle. No one wanted to admit that this was still happening… But again this didn't fit the picture that Downing Street wanted to portray. They had begun to believe their own spin””." She continued:"““Ministers should admit that what they are really doing is allowing sales to go ahead to subsidise the Education Department's rising costs. The truth is that, in town after town, green spaces are being concreted over and it can be seen by everybody.””" By April 2007, Labour had presided over the loss of 2,540 school and community playing sites. I recognise that there are pressures on Governments and on schools, and that flexibility is at the heart of the effective delivery of Government policy. However, it is appropriate for the Opposition to acknowledge that when we look back at the record of the past 13 years, although there are successes to be applauded, there are also lessons to be learned. I recognise that many right hon. and hon. Members want to contribute to the debate and I hope that it will follow the pattern that I hope I have set. I hope that it will be respectful of the facts.