Play Park Renewal Programme: FOI release

Information requested

I understand that, in 2021 the Scottish Government introduced a scheme for the renewal of playground equipment owned by Scottish Local Authorities - “Renewing Scotland’s Play Parks”.

• Is this the correct name for the scheme and, if not, what is the correct name?
• The sum allocated to the scheme was £60 million; is this correct?
• The scheme will continue until the end of financial year 2025/26; is this correct?
• All Scottish Local authorities were invited to bid for a share of this sum which was then allocated in discrete annual instalments; is this correct?
• If correct, what information was requested from local authorities and what criteria were used to determine each local authority’s allocation year on year (for example: child population, deprivation indices, amount of play equipment approaching end of life)?
• Were local authorities given guidance on how they are expected to allocate each year’s funding and what criteria are they expected to use (for example: child population, deprivation indices, amount of play equipment approaching end of life)?
• Are local authorities required to provide feedback to Scottish Government at any point(s) during the duration of the scheme and, if so, is this feedback available for public scrutiny?

Response

• Is this the correct name for the scheme and, if not, what is the correct name?

This funding does not have an official name, but is most commonly referred to as the Scottish Government Play Park Renewal Programme.

• The sum allocated to the scheme was £60 million; is this correct?

As set out in the Programme for Government 2021, the Scottish Government is investing £60 million to renew play parks in Scotland, so children have access to high-quality outdoor play in their own communities.

• The scheme will continue until the end of financial year 2025/26; is this correct?

The funding covers the course of this parliamentary term, the final year of funding will be 2025/26.

• All Scottish Local authorities were invited to bid for a share of this sum which was then allocated in discrete annual instalments; is this correct?
• If correct, what information was requested from local authorities and what criteria were used to determine each local authority’s allocation year on year (for example: child population, deprivation indices, amount of play equipment approaching end of life)?

Funding is distributed to all 32 local authorities. There was no requirement to bid for funding, allocations were determined based on population of 0-14 year olds and rurality. In the first year, the formula was:

i. 95% on population 0-14
ii. 5% on rurality

From 2022/23, the formula was:

i. 93% on population 0-14
ii. 7% on rurality

The full table of allocations to each local authority by year is:

Local Authority	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26	Total
Aberdeen City Council	£188,000	£185,000	£373,000	£559,000	£932,000	£2,237,000
Aberdeenshire Council	£296,000	£308,000	£616,000	£924,000	£1,539,000	£3,683,000
Angus Council	£108,000	£111,000	£220,000	£330,000	£550,000	£1,319,000
Argyll and Bute	£76,000	£79,000	£157,000	£235,000	£391,000	£938,000
City of Edinburgh Council	£414,000	£406,000	£811,000	£1,216,000	£2,027,000	£4,874,000
Clackmannanshire Council	£47,000	£46,000	£93,000	£139,000	£231,000	£556,000
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Council	£29,000	£32,000	£62,000	£93,000	£156,000	£372,000
Dumfries and Galloway Council	£140,000	£146,000	£291,000	£437,000	£728,000	£1,742,000
Dundee City Council	£125,000	£122,000	£243,000	£365,000	£609,000	£1,464,000
East Ayrshire Council	£112,000	£112,000	£224,000	£336,000	£561,000	£1,345,000
East Dunbartonshire Council	£102,000	£100,000	£202,000	£303,000	£505,000	£1,212,000
East Lothian Council	£108,000	£108,000	£218,000	£327,000	£545,000	£1,306,000
East Renfrewshire Council	£102,000	£101,000	£204,000	£306,000	£509,000	£1,222,000
Falkirk Council	£147,000	£145,000	£289,000	£434,000	£723,000	£1,738,000
Fife Council	£344,000	£342,000	£681,000	£1,022,000	£1,703,000	£4,092,000
Glasgow City Council	£525,000	£514,000	£1,028,000	£1,542,000	£2,570,000	£6,179,000
Highland Council	£234,000	£245,000	£488,000	£732,000	£1,219,000	£2,918,000
Inverclyde Council	£65,000	£63,000	£126,000	£189,000	£314,000	£757,000
Midlothian Council	£98,000	£97,000	£197,000	£295,000	£492,000	£1,179,000
Moray Council	£92,000	£94,000	£188,000	£282,000	£469,000	£1,125,000
North Ayrshire Council	£118,000	£117,000	£231,000	£347,000	£578,000	£1,391,000
North Lanarkshire Council	£324,000	£319,000	£635,000	£952,000	£1,586,000	£3,816,000
Orkney Islands Council	£24,000	£26,000	£51,000	£77,000	£128,000	£306,000
Perth and Kinross Council	£140,000	£144,000	£291,000	£437,000	£728,000	£1,740,000
Renfrewshire Council	£158,000	£155,000	£307,000	£461,000	£768,000	£1,849,000
Scottish Borders Council	£113,000	£117,000	£234,000	£352,000	£586,000	£1,402,000
Shetland Islands Council	£28,000	£31,000	£61,000	£91,000	£151,000	£362,000
South Ayrshire Council	£94,000	£94,000	£189,000	£283,000	£472,000	£1,132,000
South Lanarkshire Council	£298,000	£296,000	£597,000	£896,000	£1,493,000	£3,580,000
Stirling Council	£84,000	£85,000	£168,000	£253,000	£421,000	£1,011,000
West Dunbartonshire Council	£81,000	£79,000	£157,000	£235,000	£392,000	£944,000
West Lothian Council	£186,000	£184,000	£369,000	£553,000	£922,000	£2,214,000
Total	£5,000,000	£5,000,000	£10,000,000	£15,000,000	£25,000,000	£60,000,000

• Were local authorities given guidance on how they are expected to allocate each year’s funding and what criteria are they expected to use (for example: child population, deprivation indices, amount of play equipment approaching end of life)?

The funding is for public, free-to-access parks and is distributed to local authorities to complement their work in maintaining play parks that serve their communities. Decisions on which play parks to renew is for each local authority and will be influenced by local plans and investment priorities. The Scottish Government worked with COSLA on national principles for the play park renewal, which are used to guide local authorities renewal programme. The national principles set out how local authorities should review their existing estate, prioritise renewal work, and design play parks that offer improved play opportunities for children and families. The national principles are:

Principle 1: Children, young people, and families are best placed to inform what quality play looks like to them, and should therefore be involved throughout the process, from the review of parks through to helping design the renewal of individual play parks. This is in line with Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which sets out that every child who is capable of forming his or her own views has the right to express those views freely. The views of children, young people and families provide valuable insight into how they interact with parks and facilities.

Principle 2: All children have the right to play under the UNCRC Article 31. Access to play should be as wide-reaching and inclusive as possible, ensuring that children, young people, and families have easy local access to play spaces where they feel safe and comfortable to use them. Inclusiveness looks different for everyone, so meaningful engagement with the children who will be using your play parks is fundamental.

Principle 3: Play parks and spaces should seek to bring together local communities, children and young people of all ages and abilities, creating a greater sense of place and cohesion. The design and renewal of play parks should be done in a way that best meets the social and environmental needs of communities and its children and young people.

Principle 4: The renewal programme will be strengthened by sharing and learning from best practice and making use of existing national resources. There are several other tools that can help local authorities to take a strategic and evidence-based approach to the design and renewal of their local play parks. Tools such as Play Value Assessments (Power-of-play-Toolkit.pdf), an internal audit and inventory of play parks, and existing legislation and standards can provide a helpful basis for prioritising work.

• Are local authorities required to provide feedback to Scottish Government at any point(s) during the duration of the scheme and, if so, is this feedback available for public scrutiny?

Local authorities report annually, in April, on their engagement with children and families, number of play parks identified for renewal, and the number of parks renewed in the previous financial year. Renewal figures have previously been published in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request or a Parliamentary Question (PQ). The most recent response to an FOI request can be found here Play park improvement funding: FOI release - gov.scot. The most recent response to a PQ can be found here Written question and answer: S6W-33297 | Scottish Parliament Website

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