Information on the £60m play park renewal fund: FOI release

Information requested

1. How much of the £60m play park renewal fund has been spent?

2. Breakdown of where the money went, including dates and what council area and what projects it was used for?

3. How many play parks have been renewed so far using the fund?

4. How much of the fund is estimated to be used and how much have you estimated is needed to renew all the play parks in Scotland?

5. How many play parks is there in Scotland by your estimate?

Response

Question 1 – How much of the £60m play park renewal fund has been spent?

As of July 2022, we have committed £10 million since May 2021 with a further £50 million to come in this parliamentary term.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. However, you may wish to contact each local authority who may be able to help you. The reasons why we don’t have the information are explained in Annex A to this letter.

Question 2 – Breakdown of where the money went, including dates and what council area and what projects it was used for?

For publication purposes please see attached FOI 202200305397 - Information released Q2

Question 3 – How many play parks have been renewed so far using the fund?
At the time of reporting there were 103 completed play park renewals and 82 in progress.

Question 4 – How much of the fund is estimated to be used and how much have you estimated is needed to renew all the play parks in Scotland?

We expect all of the £60 million funding to be used. Local authority’s spend will be influenced by local plans and investment priorities and engagement with children and young people. We would expect that the whole play estate will be considered and all play parks that have been identified for renewal in line with nationally agreed principles and influenced by local plans and investment priorities will be renewed. Local authorities have an existing responsibility to maintain play parks that serve their communities and this investment provides a boost in funding to accelerate local plans and improve play experiences for all children in Scotland. A recent scoping exercise undertaken by COSLA estimated that £141.4 million would be required to renew all play parks across Scotland.

Question 5 – How many play parks is there in Scotland by your estimate?
From the reports received from local authorities, there are 4,568 play parks within the scope of this funding.

ANNEX A
REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION
The Scottish Government does not hold all the information you have requested. Each local authority has reported the information provided for the first year of funding. They will individually hold more information on the detail of full spend in the first year and the breakdown of where it was spent. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202200305397 - Information released Q2

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7 page PDF

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