I was tagged a little while back by the glamorous Cheshire Mum in the Naughty Step meme.
And so, I have chosen to send Conservative MP Michael Gove to spend some time on the naughty step to consider his behaviour and I hope, that when he comes back, he'll have come to his senses.
And so, I have chosen to send Conservative MP Michael Gove to spend some time on the naughty step to consider his behaviour and I hope, that when he comes back, he'll have come to his senses.
Used under the Creative Commons License from the Conservative PartyFor those who don't know, Michael Gove is the UK education secretary. He also happens to be the MP for the next constituency along from me so I got to see his name plastered up in great big blue signs for many months. I am sending him to the naughty step because of his decision to scrap plans for new and improved playgrounds throughout the whole of Britain.
The labour government introduced a 10-year plan to improve play opportunities for children. The Playbuilder scheme gave grants to around 132 local authorities to build or re-build play areas for children to offer more children the opportunity to play safely away from home gaining vital exercise and social opportunities.
In recent budget cuts, Michael Gove has written to all of these local authorities to cancel plans for all of the playgrounds on which work has not already started, or where there are not overwhelming reasons to continue. This decision directly affects the local area of Barkham and Wokingham to which I am about to move.
I understand that the new government have difficult decisions to make with regards cost cutting and money saving but I feel like this was too hasty a decision, too easy a decision for him to make. Are children's playgrounds a soft target? Why is it that these are some of the first areas to suffer from the government's sweeping cuts? Isn't there any middle ground? Can't we afford just a few new playgrounds?
So Mr. Gove, I'm sending you (with your funny face) for some quiet contemplation time on that naughty step to see if you can't come up with a better way to save money.
I tag Claire, Hayley and Kay. Who is going on your naughty step?
The labour government introduced a 10-year plan to improve play opportunities for children. The Playbuilder scheme gave grants to around 132 local authorities to build or re-build play areas for children to offer more children the opportunity to play safely away from home gaining vital exercise and social opportunities.
In recent budget cuts, Michael Gove has written to all of these local authorities to cancel plans for all of the playgrounds on which work has not already started, or where there are not overwhelming reasons to continue. This decision directly affects the local area of Barkham and Wokingham to which I am about to move.
I understand that the new government have difficult decisions to make with regards cost cutting and money saving but I feel like this was too hasty a decision, too easy a decision for him to make. Are children's playgrounds a soft target? Why is it that these are some of the first areas to suffer from the government's sweeping cuts? Isn't there any middle ground? Can't we afford just a few new playgrounds?
So Mr. Gove, I'm sending you (with your funny face) for some quiet contemplation time on that naughty step to see if you can't come up with a better way to save money.
I tag Claire, Hayley and Kay. Who is going on your naughty step?
