We now move to item 6, which is a debate on a Member's legislative proposal, and I call on Vikki Howells to move her motion on an inclusive play Bill. 

Motion NDM6537 Vikki Howells

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Notes a proposal for an inclusive play Bill.

2. Notes that the purpose of this Bill would be to improve inclusive play opportunities by placing a duty on local authorities so that they must provide play equipment that meet the needs of children with disabilities.

Motion moved.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Play is something that is vital for children and young people. It encourages physical health and well-being, tackles obesity, improves dexterity and motor skills, builds resilience and fitness levels. It also promotes mental well-being. Play contributes to healthy brain development. It offers opportunities to use the imagination. It grants children new chances to engage and interact with the world around themselves. But it also fulfils a more fundamental role in the creation of one’s identity. Renowned paediatrician Donald Winnicott said:

'It is in playing and only in playing that the individual child…is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.'

The UN’s declaration of the rights of the child afforded children the right to play. It placed a duty on Governments to ensure that right was met, codified in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This Assembly has been proactive in meeting this, being the first Parliament to adopt a national play policy and the first to legislate for children’s play.

The Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 placed a duty on local authorities to assess and secure sufficient play opportunities for children, such as through fixed playgrounds. Whilst these aren’t the only opportunities for play, they remain one of the most popular and convenient options. But that is not true for all children. In particular, it is not true for those with a disability. In 2015, Sense undertook a public inquiry into the provision of play opportunities for children aged zero to five with multiple needs in England and Wales. Published in 2016, this contained some stark findings. It found a strong consensus that children with multiple needs face significant barriers to accessing play. Families wanted to be able to access mainstream play settings in the community. However, 92 per cent of parents felt that their child lacked the same opportunities to play as their non-disabled peers. Many settings were just not accessible to children with multiple needs. And this impacts on health, wellbeing and the ability of these children to interact with their friends, family and society.

Many constituents have also contacted me to tell me about the problems that they face. Since being elected, two playgrounds in my constituency have been made inclusive. In one case, Glyncoch, this was in terms of the accessibility of the playground site. And in the other case, Cilfynydd, where I had the honour of meeting a very remarkable young lady called Mia Thorne, this was in terms of installing new inclusive play equipment so that Mia could play with her friends.

An inaccessible site or inaccessible equipment can both be barriers preventing children from play. Both of these improvements were part of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council’s incredibly ambitious £1.7 million investment in local play sites. They could be taken to say, 'We are meeting the challenge.' Rather, I think they actually work to highlight the problem. For example, one of my colleagues here invited me to see a new playground in their constituency elsewhere in Wales. The investment had cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, and it was a very impressive site with some really good bits of kit. The park itself had been made accessible as part of these works, but there was no inclusive play equipment. Children with disabilities could travel right up to the play equipment, but not use it in any way. I felt that this was a real chance that had been missed, considering the huge amount that had been invested. Just for £1,000 or so more, there could have been inclusive play opportunities provided.

So, a chance had been missed, and this is exactly where my proposal would come in. I am asking Assembly Members today to note my proposal for an inclusive play Bill. This Bill, quite simply, would enhance inclusive play opportunities by placing a duty on local authorities so that they must provide play equipment and areas that meet the needs of children with disabilities. This would build on the 2010 Measure. That already tasks local authorities with providing play sufficiency assessments and play action plans. Of the nine matters within this, two involve an awareness of inclusivity issues, but Play Wales has noted challenges around councils meeting these due to resource and capacity. My proposal would strengthen and amend this, prioritising the provision of inclusive play equipment.

I want to take a few moments to address possible obstacles to my proposal. Would such a Bill place undue financial pressures on councils, particularly in the context of wider public sector austerity? I believe that this is not the case. Changes could take place over a long-term timescale with no immediate expectations of wholesale alteration. Councils could develop and plan inclusive playgrounds on a manageable basis as part of any routine work. As the example of RCT I cited earlier suggests, councils do invest and upgrade play equipment on a fairly regular basis. My proposal would only ensure that planned upgrades include provision of inclusive pieces that are accessible or adapted for those with sensory issues—that it was a starting principle rather than a last-minute addition.

Moreover, the differential between inclusive and non-inclusive play pieces is not so substantial as may be presumed. It could be comfortably met within a playground refurbishment costed within the tens of thousands, and RCT council tell me that the average that they spend on the refurbishment of a single playground is around the £25,000 ballpark figure. This also explains why such a proposal would not lead to an unintended consequence of councils not refurbishing their play equipment. But a more challenging issue could be that there is no one-size-fits-all piece of play equipment that would suit all disabilities or all ages. However, what I would say is that there are various pieces that could benefit a number of different user groups.

Now, even if Members support my proposal today, I know there will be no sudden change in the law. However, there are several sensible proposals that could be used to further explore the issue. For example, I would like to see the publication of the play sufficiency assessments that local authorities already produce. Better sharing of information would empower children and their families so that we and they know what is actually out there. Awareness could be strengthened by some type of Green Flag good practice award, either as a free-standing initiative or as part of the already established green spaces recognition scheme. And any work done on this could be advertised through a website so that parents would be able to access and see where good practice inclusive playgrounds were situated. So, I look forward to Member’s contributions on my proposal.

Plaid Cymru are broadly supportive of this motion today. We believe that children living with disabilities and special needs should be able to have the important and precious life experiences that any other child in our society should have. But I do feel that it is unfortunate, in a sense, that we should be considering the needs to place inclusive play and access to play opportunities for children with disabilities on a more statutory footing, because one would have hoped that, by this time, with devolution as progressed as it is, there would be widespread recognition from authorities and the wider public for the need for play opportunities to be accessible to every family and every child with a disability or special need.

We would also have hoped that with the programmes that the Welsh Government have, and I'm sure we'll hear more about them later, that there wouldn't be the uncertainty over provision and access, which exists for many families. Perhaps it would be useful for the Minister to outline what provision there is already and how they currently, or plan to, ensure uniformity of access and services across the whole of Wales when he responds. 

In my experience as an Assembly Member there is a myriad of services that people and the Welsh Government expect to be provided by local authorities, but which in reality are not, or if they are, then it varies from place to place and sometimes within an authority itself. We often hear that a Government Minister has issued guidance or is making more money available for a particular service and, often, that is welcome, but without a legal basis and requirement for an authority to act, particularly when money is difficult to find, constituents come to us with complaints that they are simply unable to do things that should be guaranteed.

We see this with things beyond play. I'm currently working with young carers—and I have a meeting with the Minister tomorrow—who have told me that, for example, young carers assessments are written within the legislation, they should be happening, they should be enacted, but they are not in many, many areas. So, if there is going to be this new duty on local authorities, as described by Vikki Howells, what will this actually mean in practice, and what will change on the ground? I think that's key to any new legislation. 

I was thinking perhaps it might have been to do with play in more general terms. So, I was going to go on to say about a situation in my area, which the Minister is aware of, with the Action for Children playgroup in Neath Port Talbot, where people felt they were left in the dark about the changes there and the potential downgrading of some of those services. I think it's still pertinent here, because, of course, many of those children who are accessing those services will be those with autism, and if there is specific equipment within that playgroup that they will have, via Action for Children, then we need to make sure that they have access to that equipment whatever provider it is in the future. This is just one anecdotal example, but it is an example of concerns that people raise with us all the time.

I'm sympathetic to calling for new legislation in this regard, because I think that local authorities need to do more, but again it comes back to this lifelong discussion that we have about what local authorities have discretion to do, or not do, and the flexibility that they have. And if there is going to be a statutory obligation on local authorities to do this, then we have to actually make sure they do it and do it well. 

I'd like to thank the Member for the Cynon Valley for bringing this debate, which I'm delighted to be able to speak very briefly in support of.

Many disabled children are missing out on the opportunity to socialise and mix with children who are not disabled. Mumsnet, the UK's biggest website for parents, and the charity Scope are calling on local authorities to do more to make local children's provision like leisure activities, groups and play centres inclusive for disabled children and their families. And, besides the missed play opportunities for disabled children, there is a clear knock-on effect that non-disabled children don't get to play with them either.

Children are the most naturally inclusive citizens we have, yet we seem to be reasonably effective at taking that away from them as they grow, for instance, by not providing inclusive play equipment. Segregating them by not supplying combined play equipment and provision is clearly one of the ways it begins to happen. So, giving children equality with their peers and encouraging inclusion will undoubtedly be a step in the right direction to nurturing them to become more inclusive adults.

It has to be said, of course, that the principle of making sure that there's equal amount of inclusive play provision is academic in those areas with minimal or no play areas. So, equally, I'd be encouraging councils not just to think about the play opportunities there are for disabled children, but the play opportunities there are for all of the children, because we're not exactly swimming in playgrounds and safe places for children to go and play. So, I'd like to see that provision improved. But I agree that where it does exist, play equipment and provision should, of course, be inclusive. No child's more important than another, but actions speak louder than words, and if we don't redress this inequality, can we really complain and preach when negative attitudes towards disabled people continue?

Play is important for all our children; socialisation is important for all our children, and the concept of equality is vital for our children to grasp, accept and respect. If this proposal is not resourced properly, it will do nothing, but with the right money behind it, it could achieve great things for all of our children. So, I wholeheartedly support this motion and would ask that it's backed with meaningful resources, if it actually comes to fruition. Thank you.

I'm delighted to contribute to this debate on the legislative proposal on inclusive play, brought to the Chamber by Vikki Howells. This does provide us with the opportunity to take stock of progress since the groundbreaking play sufficiency legislation in the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010. Many Members—not here at this moment in this Chamber—contributed to that at the time.

It's noteworthy that the word 'groundbreaking' was the word used by Play Wales, the national charity that I know that you've closely engaged with, Vikki. A national charity for children's play, they've led the way in the world with their rights-based approach to children's play. I spent time in my early community work career developing and working on a bunch of playgrounds in Cardiff and in Pill in Newport. I was proud to incorporate that evidence of my experience into the world's first play policy in October 2002, when I was health and social services Minister.

In straightforward language and terms, the play policy set out the Welsh Government's recognition of the vital importance of play and a commitment that society should seek every opportunity to support it. And believe it or not, play was not a policy priority at that time. But we were working as a Government, as you do now, to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 2006, 'The Assembly Government's Play Policy Implementation Plan'—a very long title—committed to ensure full implementation of article 31 of the convention that recognised the importance of play for the child. The play implementation plan did refer to the Disability Discrimination Act and also it cited case studies, such as Interplay in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, and I quote:

'Interplay began in 1987 as a summer play project and has since grown to become a year round provider of inclusive play and leisure for 5–19 year olds in the counties of Swansea and Neath Port Talbot.

'The majority of users have some degree of learning disabilities; many have physical impairments, sensory impairments and challenging behaviour. Interplay does not run play schemes, but instead provides additional support staff to enable children aged 5-11 with various needs to be integrated into play schemes organised by local authorities, local voluntary groups and leisure centres.'

Any policy to enhance inclusive play needs to draw as well on the natural environment: for example, street-based play, 20-mph zones, and it must engage with children themselves to identify their rights in play. And that was the glory of the development of adventure playgrounds, such as—and I know she's not here at the moment, but with Lesley Griffiths, many times I've visited The Venture playgrounds, as some of you might have done in Wrexham, which are still very pioneering.

I think Play Wales has provided a very useful briefing on the current state of policy thinking and provision, including reference to the Equality Act 2010 and the definition of inclusive play, but I believe that Vikki Howells has widened that definition to ensure we include the needs of disabled children and young people.

I think this debate enables us to put play back on the agenda, enhancing well-being and children's rights, remembering, of course, that the foundation phase indeed opened up play-directed learning that has resulted in greater confidence in our young people. Obviously we look forward to the Minister's response, but let's use our groundbreaking policy and legislation to restate the importance of play in Wales and consider what more we can do on the legislative front, as Vikki Howells has proposed today.

Thank you. Can I now call the Minister for Children and Social Care, Huw Irranca-Davies?

Thank you very much. First, I'd like to start by congratulating Vikki Howells for securing an important debate here today in the Chamber.

A very important debate, and I thank Vikki as well for all her time and hard work in this policy area since she's arrived here, and her passion for championing inclusive play, both here and also in her own constituency, and others as well, as Jane has just reminded us. Thank you as well to Bethan and to Michelle for their contributions to this debate.

It is a very welcome opportunity to raise the profile of the play agenda and the importance of inclusive and accessible play opportunities to meet the needs of all children. As Vikki and Jane in particular mentioned, we can be rightly proud of the fact that Wales has absolutely led the way on this: the first country in the world to legislate for play. Wales is acknowledged as a world leader in promoting recognition of the importance of play and embedding this in our legislation. And together with our partners, we've done much, as we've just heard, to work towards creating a play-friendly country.

I agree with Vikki that there is more that can be done to improve inclusive and accessible play opportunities, and I'll turn to some of the suggestions shortly. However, I would suggest that introducing further legislation is not necessary, or the best way forward, for a number of reasons. First amongst those is that the current legislative framework—as has been mentioned in this debate already—is widely regarded as sound and fit for purpose. So, alongside requirements under the Equality Act 2010, our Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 places a duty on local authorities to conduct play sufficiency assessments and to secure sufficient play opportunities.

Would the Minister take an intervention?

Indeed. I will give way.

Minister, I agree with you that there is some really good practice out there already, and I'd just like to invite you to come to my constituency where I could show you an example of a really good inclusive play area. Maybe you could meet with some of the children and parents that I've been working with.

The Llywydd took the Chair.

I'd be absolutely delighted to take that opportunity up because part of the challenge here is seeing what good looks like and then making sure that good appears everywhere right across the country, with partners on the ground, with every local authority. But the statutory underpinning is there; it's making sure now that that's delivered on consistently everywhere. And it will be diverse because the needs of the children are diverse as well. I happily take that invitation up.

There are clear requirements already in place, but neither we, nor others in the field, such as Play Wales, mentioned by Jane there, feel that placing an additional duty on local authorities is the best way to achieving inclusive play opportunities. But, secondly—and you would expect me to mention this—Welsh Government has provided local authorities with just short of £5 million since 2013-14 to improve accessible and inclusive play in their areas, and, in fact, we've probably seen some of the results in your local area and others as well. The play sufficiency assessments reveal that local authorities have indeed been making concerted efforts to provide accessible play opportunities. The progress reports have shown that funding has been used throughout Wales to address accessibility issues with regard to outdoor play spaces and, by the way, it is wider play spaces, not simply playgrounds, but wider play spaces as well.

Thirdly, the introduction of new legislation could—despite the reassurances that Vikki was giving in her contribution—could—and it's been observed not just by me but by others—lead to some unanticipated outcomes and could even be counter-productive. So, for example, what is accessible play for some children is actually a barrier for others. There is a risk of decisions that might result on the ground in inappropriate design or even further segregation between different children, and we wouldn't want that to happen.

However, Vikki raised a number of interesting proposals during the debate that I'm keen to consider further and take forward. So, for example, with regard to the Green Flag good practice award, while I understand the intention behind the suggestion, we'd probably need to carry out further work to see whether this could be achieved as part of the established green spaces recognition scheme, perhaps, or via another route. But I'm happy to look at that. So, for example, we might want to work with partners to gather and publish case studies that clearly set out the important key features of particular schemes and interventions across Wales.

And turning to the vital issue that Vikki raised about awareness and sharing of information and public-facing information, I completely agree that local authorities should be making information publicly available about their play sufficiency assessments, and where people can go for the appropriate play. This should include actions they propose to take to achieve sufficiency and to improve inclusive play opportunities.

So, on the back of this debate and the points that Vikki and others have made, I will ask officials to immediately take forward the suggestion so that information is made available by local authorities in a way that supports children and their families to know what's available. There might be a role, for example, for family information services, which we can explore, along with making greater use of Play Wales's 'Creating accessible playing spaces toolkit', which is a tool for providing good information for parents.

So, ultimately, Presiding Officer, enabling all children to play and to play together is about a benefit to the whole community. If any child is prevented from playing, then it diminishes the play experience of all children. So, thank you to Vikki.

Thank you to Vikki Howells for the opportunity to discuss inclusive play. It is important that we continue to work with our partners to ensure that our children can play in our communities. So thank you very much.

We can see that there's an agenda here to take forward, and I thank her and other Members present today for giving play this airing it deserves more frequently.

I call on Vikki Howells to reply to the debate—Vikki Howells.

I'd like to thank all Members who took part in this debate today, and especially the Minister as well. Just to respond to some of the points raised, my colleague Bethan Jenkins asked what would it look like on the ground, and Michelle Brown raised some concerns about resourcing. I think that's the beauty of my suggestion, that these changes could be incremental. I've been trawling through different play catalogues, and you see, for example, that an inclusive roundabout costs just a few hundred pounds more than a standard one, and a basket swing costs, again, just a few hundred pounds more than a conventional one. So, when a local authority is going out with a budget of, say, £25,000 to revamp a play area, it's quite easy to fit those things in with no additional resource requirements.

So, I hope Members will be able to note my proposal today. If Wales could legislate on this matter, we would not only be the first country in the world to have passed a law on the right to play, we would be the first country in the world to have specifically legislated on inclusive play. That achievement would not just be about having passed a new law; it would be about starting to put in place measures so that disabled children could have the same rights to play as their peers. It would be about creating safe spaces that parents and families are happy for children to use to improve their physical, emotional and mental well-being, and it would be about recognising that disabled children have the same right to play as their peers.

The proposal is to note the proposal. Does any Member object? Therefore, the motion is agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.