“Democracy is made in the playgrounds” – just one of the many quotable moments from a Westminster Hall debate last week. Brought to our attention by Jackie Boldon at Playwork in Progress, this was part of an hour-long debate secured by Tom Hayes, Labour MP for Bournemouth East, in partnership with Play England.
With Play England CEO, Eugene Minogue, in attendance, Tom expanded his opening statements with two key asks:
- A new national Play Strategy for England; and
- Play sufficiency legislation.
The Play England website details further success as a result of the debate in the securing of a meeting with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Local Growth and Building Safety), Alex Norris MP.
I look forward to meeting with the Minister to build on today’s debate and take forward the bold policy changes needed to give children their childhood back – Eugene Minogue, Play England, CEO
This is the latest in a long-standing campaign by Play England aimed at the new Labour Government in Westminster. In July last year, they published an open letter outlining the first steps of change that prioritised the importance of play, to which they received a response (albeit a little lacklustre) in September 2024 from the Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government in England:
Play England is calling on supporters to help keep up the momentum by contacting their local Members of Parliament at Westminster. While play sufficiency legislation already exists in Wales and Scotland, supporters in these countries can still encourage their Westminster MPs to advocate for play and inspire their colleagues in England to take action.
Read the full debate on Hansard (official publisher of parliamentary transcripts).
To find out who you can contact, visit WriteToThem and enter your postcode.
The Playwork Foundation 