ASSOCIATION OF PLAY INDUSTRIES - Public Play Facilities

The request was successful.

Dear Reading Borough Council,

2 years ago, we were hearing from our members that installations of new playground equipment were falling in England and that this was due directly to a lack of funding within local authorities. This worried us and our members at a time when Childhood obesity is increasing and there are more instances of divided communities. In order to quantify what was happening we commissioned a report which resulted in our #nowheretoplay campaign highlighting the extent of the problem. We believe it is now time to refresh our information and to once again highlight to government the problems resulting from a reduction in children’s play facilities. We would therefore urge you to support us in the FOI request.

1. How many public play facilities (including playgrounds, adventure playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) do you currently have available to the public in your LA area?

2. What was your total budget for public play facilities (including playgrounds, adventure playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) in each of the following years?

• 2016-17
• 2017-18

3. What is your expected total budget for public play facilities (including playgrounds, adventure playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) in each of the following years?

• 2018-19
• 2019-20
• 2020-21

4. How many public playgrounds and play facilities were closed in your LA area and what proportion of your total play facilities did this represent, in each of the following years?

• 2016-17
• 2017-18

5. How many public playgrounds and play facilities do you expect will close and what proportion of your total play facilities will this represent, in each of the following years?

• 2018-19
• 2019-20
• 2020-21

Data to be collated into excel spreadsheet.

Yours faithfully,

Samuel Lubrano

Gillespie, Andy, Reading Borough Council

Dear Mr Lubrano

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

 

Thank you for your recent request received in this office on 21^st August
2018.

 

You have requested the following information under the provisions of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000:

 

1.       How many public play facilities (including playgrounds, adventure
playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) do you currently have available to the
public in your LA area?

2.       What was your total budget for public play facilities (including
playgrounds, adventure playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) in each of the
following years?

•        2016-17

•        2017-18

3.       What is your expected total budget for public play facilities
(including playgrounds, adventure playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) in each
of the following years?

•        2018-19

•        2019-20

•        2020-21

4.       How many public playgrounds and play facilities were closed in
your LA area and what proportion of your total play facilities did this
represent, in each of the following years?

•        2016-17

•        2017-18

5.       How many public playgrounds and play facilities do you expect
will close and what proportion of your total play facilities will this
represent, in each of the following years?

•        2018-19

•        2019-20

•        2020-21

 

Our response is as follows:

2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
How many public
play facilities
(including
playgrounds,
adventure
1 playgrounds,   N/A N/A 57 N/A N/A
skate parks,
etc.) do you
currently have
available to the
public in your LA
area?
What was your
total budget for
public play Revenue £121,500 £121,500 N/A N/A N/A
facilities
(including
2 playgrounds,
adventure
playgrounds,
skate parks, Capital £77,600 £229,928 N/A N/A N/A
etc.) in each of
the following
years?
What is your
expected total
budget for public Revenue N/A N/A £101,500 £101,500 £101,500
play facilities
(including
3 playgrounds,
adventure
playgrounds,
skate parks, Capital N/A N/A To be confirmed
etc.) in each of
the following
years?
How many public
playgrounds and
play facilities
were closed in
your LA area and
4 what proportion   0 0 N/A N/A N/A
of your total
play facilities
did this
represent, in
each of the
following years?
How many public
playgrounds and
play facilities
do you expect
will close and
5 what proportion   N/A N/A 1 Not known Not known
of your total
play facilities
will this
represent, in
each of the
following years?

 

You are free to use any information supplied to you for your own personal
purposes or for non-commercial research, private study or news reporting.
However, you do not have the right to re-use the information in a way
which infringes copyright, for example, by distributing, making copies of
or publishing the information, without the permission of the copyright
holder, which in most cases will be Reading Borough Council. If you wish
to obtain permission for such use, please contact Mr C Brooks, Head of
Legal and Democratic Services, at Reading Borough Council.

 

Please note that your request may itself be the subject of a FOI request
and will be disclosed in that event.

 

If you are unhappy with this response to your request for information
under the Freedom of Information Act then you may ask for an internal
review. Please make a request in writing to Mr C Brooks, Head of Legal and
Democratic Services, at Reading Borough Council.  If you request such a
review and are not content with its outcome, then you have a right to
apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Andy Gillespie

Parks & Open Spaces Manager

 

 

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