Play: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department has allocated for children's play in (a) Tameside and (b) Stockport in 2009-10.

Mr. Coaker
Tameside has been allocated £393,306 capital funding and £19,802 revenue funding for 2009-10.

Stockport has been allocated £528,703 capital funding and £26,991 revenue funding for 2009-10.

Tameside began receiving play funding from April 2008, as part of the first wave of the children's plan play capital investment programme. The National Play Strategy, which was published in December 2008, announced that Government would be accelerating the capital programme so that all of the remaining 89 top tier local authorities in England would receive funding from April 2009 as wave two of the investment programme. This means that all 152 local authorities will be receiving play capital, and associated revenue, funding during the 2009-10 financial year. Stockport has joined the programme in this second wave.