The pledge followed recommendations in a review by Labour MP FrankDobson that the cash should be targeted at free, outdoor playfacilities. But there will be no such fund for Northern Ireland.
At Children Now's recent Prioritising Play conference, Big Lottery Fundchair Sir Clive Booth said there were no plans for a "distinctchildren's play programme". The money would instead be fed into theChange UR Future programme for the under-25s, part of Northern Ireland'sYoung People's Fund.
Jacqueline O'Loughlin, chief executive of Playboard, the lead agency forchildren's play in Northern Ireland, said she had expected the provinceto get about 9.8m. "Given the unique circumstances of NorthernIreland, the community and statutory segregation of children and youngpeople, and the restrictions on where and how children play, I amappalled that there is to be no distinct plans for a play fund here,"she said.
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