3. What action is the Welsh Government taking to improve access to play for children in Cynon Valley? OAQ(5)0043(CC)

Thank you for the question. The Welsh Government places great value on play and its importance in the lives of children, including the impact on well-being, health, and future life chances.

Thank you. I was pleased last week to be able to attend the opening of two accessible play areas in my constituency, at Cilfynydd and Glyncoch. In both cases, improvements have been the result of well-supported community campaigns and welcome investment from Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out a right to play. How is the Welsh Government engaging with partners, like local authorities, to make sure they have play areas that are accessible for all children?

I’d like to congratulate RCT on their investment in your local community too. The Welsh Government has placed a statutory duty on local authorities to assess and, where practical, secure sufficient play opportunities that meet the needs, such as access and inclusion of children and their families. We have produced a toolkit and also fund Play Wales to support them in meeting this duty.

Minister, obviously, one of the main planks of public health is to get participation in sport levels up in Wales, and for young people to participate in healthy activity, wherever that might be. One of the things that many sports clubs are struggling with, across my region of South Wales Central, is obviously pitch fees and facility fees. I appreciate this is an issue for local government, but here you almost have a policy objective colliding with decisions taken in county hall.

We understand that there does have to be a charge, because these facilities cost, but where great concern comes in to play is where a lot of these clubs are citing examples in other areas with a disparity in the costs, very often in the same local authority area. How are you working with Cabinet colleagues to drive forward a more coherent policy that links up the public health messages with community participation, and, in particular, local government charges for community facilities?

The Member raises an important point about accessibility, and price can sometimes be a contributing factor to people not being able to access these issues. I will take this up with the relevant Minister, to have a discussion with her. But we did legislate last year for the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, which looks at long-term improvement in the well-being of all. This will be something that authorities will have to demonstrate that they’re considering in their actions in relation to access to play too.