Sharon used Education Questions to highlight Tory-controlled Wandsworth Council's plan to start charging children £2.50 for access to an outdoor adventure playground in Battersea Park.

Not long after this exchange, and following popular campaigns against charges by parents and Labour politicians, the Council did a U-turn, although refusing to rule out charging in future.

Sharon's exchange with Michael Gove went as follows:

Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab): Will the Secretary of State join me in condemning the mean-spirited actions of Tory-controlled Wandsworth council, which plans to introduce a charge of £2.50 for children to play in a publicly funded playground? Children there play together regardless of income or background, and for many local children the playground is their back garden, because they live in high-rise flats. Is this localism in action, or will the Secretary of State assure the House that the Government will press councils to ensure that this is not a slippery slope towards a price tag on playtime? [Interruption.]

Michael Gove: As my hon. Friends point out, a slippery slope is often something we would want in a playground. In fairness, however, as the hon. Lady pointed out, we want to ensure that children have the opportunity to play and enjoy play without fees or bureaucracy getting in the way. It is one of the responsibilities of local authorities to ensure that children have an opportunity to play freely, but it is also the responsibility of central Government to sweep away some of the ridiculous health and safety regulations that the previous Government put in place to prevent our young children from enjoying themselves properly.

The question can be viewed on Parliament TV, or read in Hansard.

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