The coalition government has come under fire following the revelation that information it provided about the sale of land belonging to schools was inaccurate. The Department for Education was forced to apologise after it emerged that the number of playing fields disposed of since 2010 was 30, not the previously stated figure of 21.
The row is particularly embarrassing for the government in light of the debate surrounding the Olympic legacy which was intended to “inspire a generation” to get involved in sport. This commitment has also been thrown into doubt by the announcement that guidelines introduced by the last government, aimed to ensure that every pupil gets at least 2 hours compulsory physical education a week, have been scrapped.
London 2012 was a resounding success for Team GB and has been hailed for bringing a feel good factor to the nation following years of economic gloom. It has been credited with everything from increasing footfall in retail commercial properties to a fall in London crime levels, and the government might also have been expecting to be sprinkled with a little Olympic gold dust.
Instead they have scored a spectacular own goal and find themselves the target of intense criticism from both the opposition and figures such as multi-gold medal winning Olympian Sir Steve Redgrave. The latest blunder came after Education Secretary Michael Gove published figures regarding the sale of playing fields. Not only was this information wrong, it later emerged he had ignored advice from the School Playing Fields Advisory Panel on five occasions before approving land sales.
Mr Gove has also come under attack over plans to axe school playing field protection legislation which guarantees a minimum amount of outdoor space per pupil. This has led to fears that there will soon be more school land for sale and that it will make it more difficult for ministers to reject applications in the future.
Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg has demanded to know why the Minister has ignored the advisory panel. He said; “The fact Michael Gove has ignored the advice of independent experts and ploughed ahead with selling off school playing fields shows he is shamefully out of touch.”
In a further blow to the Conservative Party’s standing when it comes to school sports, figures show that under the Tory government around 10,000 playing fields were disposed of between 1979 and 1997, but only 226 under Labour from 1997 to 2010.
Selling school playing fields has never made sense and it seems even more ridiculous in the context of the debate about the Olympic legacy. There is plenty of land in and around cities for residential and commercial developments.
Very true Don 🙂