Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support her Department provides to local authorities seeking to establish play streets and other child-friendly neighbourhood initiatives.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department has not made a specific national assessment of the impact of traffic levels on children's opportunities for outdoor play but recognises the importance of ensuring children have access to safe and welcoming local places to play. Through the ÂŁ18 million Playground Fund, the Government is supporting local authorities to improve access to high-quality playgrounds in areas of greatest need.
The Government’s Pride in Place Programme will also provide up to £5.8 billion over ten years to support 284 neighbourhoods identified as most in need. Each neighbourhood under the programme will be given up to £20m of flexible funding and support. In each place, the local neighbourhood board will work with the community to decide how this funding is spent, which could include investment in local regeneration projects such as parks and playgrounds where these reflect local priorities.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of traffic levels on children's opportunities for outdoor play.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department has not made a specific national assessment of the impact of traffic levels on children's opportunities for outdoor play but recognises the importance of ensuring children have access to safe and welcoming local places to play. Through the ÂŁ18 million Playground Fund, the Government is supporting local authorities to improve access to high-quality playgrounds in areas of greatest need.
The Government’s Pride in Place Programme will also provide up to £5.8 billion over ten years to support 284 neighbourhoods identified as most in need. Each neighbourhood under the programme will be given up to £20m of flexible funding and support. In each place, the local neighbourhood board will work with the community to decide how this funding is spent, which could include investment in local regeneration projects such as parks and playgrounds where these reflect local priorities.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to protect residential housing developments built adjacent to urban parks from grass fire threats.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has strengthened national planning policy to ensure that climate resilience, including wildfire risk, is considered when planning for new development.
The National Planning Policy Framework requires local planning authorities to take account of climate change adaptation, including wildfire risk where relevant, through the plan-making process. It also makes clear that development proposals should account for the current and expected impacts of climate change over their lifetime, including by minimising vulnerability to risks such as wildfires.
Through these planning reforms, the government is helping to ensure that new residential development, including where proposed in locations that may be vulnerable to wildfire hazards, is designed and located in a way that supports safer and more climate-resilient communities.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions she has had with a) retailers, b) parking operators and c) local authorities on the appropriate use of parent and child parking spaces.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Parent and child bays are not prescribed or required by national legislation. The Department has made no assessment of the adequacy of parent and child parking spaces, or measures to prevent their misuse, in local authority or private car parks.
The provision of parent and child parking bays in private car parks is a matter for the operator. The government is aware of the enforcement challenges to prevent the misuse of these bays. Whilst there have been no recent discussions with retailers on this matter, the government will continue to work closely with representatives for local authorities and parking operators.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of enforcement measures used by private car park operators to prevent the misuse of parent and child parking bays.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Parent and child bays are not prescribed or required by national legislation. The Department has made no assessment of the adequacy of parent and child parking spaces, or measures to prevent their misuse, in local authority or private car parks.
The provision of parent and child parking bays in private car parks is a matter for the operator. The government is aware of the enforcement challenges to prevent the misuse of these bays. Whilst there have been no recent discussions with retailers on this matter, the government will continue to work closely with representatives for local authorities and parking operators.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the current arrangements for parent and child parking spaces in public car parks.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Parent and child bays are not prescribed or required by national legislation. The Department has made no assessment of the adequacy of parent and child parking spaces, or measures to prevent their misuse, in local authority or private car parks.
The provision of parent and child parking bays in private car parks is a matter for the operator. The government is aware of the enforcement challenges to prevent the misuse of these bays. Whilst there have been no recent discussions with retailers on this matter, the government will continue to work closely with representatives for local authorities and parking operators.
Asked by: Baroness Fookes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to implement the statutory obligation under section 102 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 for decision makers to pay special regard to heritage assets when making planning decisions regarding, among other things, registered parks and gardens.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government announced on 17 August in its response to the consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework that it will implement section 102 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. Further details of this will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has considered introducing a statutory duty on local authorities to assess and secure adequate play opportunities for children.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
While the department has no plans to bring forward a national play strategy, it has made significant steps to improve the availability of playgrounds. Playgrounds are an important part of play opportunities for children that support children’s physical health, wellbeing and social development. The Government has brought forward £18m of funding through the Playground fund, which will improve children’s access to safe, inclusive, high‑quality local play spaces in communities where it has fallen furthest behind. £18m over two years will support local authorities to deliver new or refurbish up to 200 playgrounds across England, prioritising areas with high child deprivation and poor access to safe, local play space.
The Government’s Pride in Place Programme will also provide up to £5.8 billion over ten years to support 284 neighbourhoods identified as most in need. Each neighbourhood under the programme will be given up to £20m of flexible funding and support. In each place, the local neighbourhood board will work with the community to decide how this funding is spent, which could include investment in local regeneration projects such as parks and playgrounds where these reflect local priorities.
The National Planning Policy Framework, published in August 2026, strengthens support for new and improved community facilities, including where they are required to support new development. It also safeguards against the loss of playing fields and other formal and informal play spaces.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of statutory play sufficiency duties elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
While the department has no plans to bring forward a national play strategy, it has made significant steps to improve the availability of playgrounds. Playgrounds are an important part of play opportunities for children that support children’s physical health, wellbeing and social development. The Government has brought forward £18m of funding through the Playground fund, which will improve children’s access to safe, inclusive, high‑quality local play spaces in communities where it has fallen furthest behind. £18m over two years will support local authorities to deliver new or refurbish up to 200 playgrounds across England, prioritising areas with high child deprivation and poor access to safe, local play space.
The Government’s Pride in Place Programme will also provide up to £5.8 billion over ten years to support 284 neighbourhoods identified as most in need. Each neighbourhood under the programme will be given up to £20m of flexible funding and support. In each place, the local neighbourhood board will work with the community to decide how this funding is spent, which could include investment in local regeneration projects such as parks and playgrounds where these reflect local priorities.
The National Planning Policy Framework, published in August 2026, strengthens support for new and improved community facilities, including where they are required to support new development. It also safeguards against the loss of playing fields and other formal and informal play spaces.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on establishing cross-government objectives for children's play.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
While the department has no plans to bring forward a national play strategy, it has made significant steps to improve the availability of playgrounds. Playgrounds are an important part of play opportunities for children that support children’s physical health, wellbeing and social development. The Government has brought forward £18m of funding through the Playground fund, which will improve children’s access to safe, inclusive, high‑quality local play spaces in communities where it has fallen furthest behind. £18m over two years will support local authorities to deliver new or refurbish up to 200 playgrounds across England, prioritising areas with high child deprivation and poor access to safe, local play space.
The Government’s Pride in Place Programme will also provide up to £5.8 billion over ten years to support 284 neighbourhoods identified as most in need. Each neighbourhood under the programme will be given up to £20m of flexible funding and support. In each place, the local neighbourhood board will work with the community to decide how this funding is spent, which could include investment in local regeneration projects such as parks and playgrounds where these reflect local priorities.
The National Planning Policy Framework, published in August 2026, strengthens support for new and improved community facilities, including where they are required to support new development. It also safeguards against the loss of playing fields and other formal and informal play spaces.