As each new revelation about Cameron’s long association with the disgraced banker Lex Greensill has surfaced – the lobbying, the stock options, the private jets, Lex’s Downing Street business card, the boys’ camping trip with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the stench has become harder to stomach.

Ben Wright 2 April www.telegraph.co.uk (Extract)

…..The problem is that he went to work for the very same man he had invited into the heart of government. He blurred the demarcation line between his public and private careers to the point of non-existence. If it didn’t break the rules, we need new ones. 

This isn’t just about one man and his weapons-grade sense of entitlement. The points on the sliding scale between chumocracy, sleaze, crony capitalism and outright corruption can too easily elide. Where, for example, should we place the dealings of housing secretary Robert Jenrick with property developers, or contracts issued by health secretary Matt Hancock to certain PPE suppliers? 

This stuff is deeply insidious. Sure it further undermines trust in politicians. More importantly it will make it harder for future governments to draw on the expertise of private companies – either in shrinking the state to make it more efficient or, as during the pandemic, scaling up at speed to deal with an emergency. 

What we really need is more self-aware politicians and a greater sense of probity in public life. In the meantime we should redouble our efforts to lampoon those who, just for example, attack Silicon Valley companies for not paying enough tax, say they’re “not especially bedazzled by Facebook” and then scuttle off to become Mark Zuckerberg’s bag carrier as soon as they’ve been booted out by the electorate. 

There must be far greater transparency of government contracts. It can’t be right that civil servants were asking questions about the mechanics of Greensill’s pharmacies scheme and unable to get straight answers. If these deals are not comprehensible to a layperson then the assumption must be that there’s something nasty hiding in the small print……. 

Parents and play experts are turning to crowdfunding to rebuild and maintain playgrounds as cash-strapped local authorities cut their budgets across England.

Harriet Grant www.theguardian.com

Despite calls by child development experts for a “summer of play” for children as the pandemic ends, there is a funding crisis across all parts of the play sector – from park playgrounds to new spaces built by housing developers.

In Coggeshall, Essex, Jemma Green and her neighbours got the idea for crowdfunding their playground from others. “It’s incredibly common now. We have got £110,000 and nearly all of that has come from fundraising. The parish council saved for two years to give us £30,000 – we are lucky they could do that. And we had £25,000 from Enovert, a local landfill company. But all our other grant applications were turned down – National Lottery, things like that.

“It’s very expensive work. Our playground was over 30 years old and it was half-empty most of the time – but without this fundraising we just wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”

The Association of Play Industries (API) has warned of a continued decline in the funding of park playgrounds. Using freedom of information requests it found that since 2014 347 playgrounds have been shut down across England. For those that survive, the API estimates there will be a decrease in spending of over £13m a year on average.

Mark Hardy, who chairs the API, says: “The steady decline in funding started during austerity but what is worrying now is that in the last 18 months or so funding is not going back to normal. Play is not a statutory provision and local authorities have a lot of priorities.”

He says that while larger “destination” playgrounds do sometimes still get funding, many local spaces are in effect abandoned.

“Neighbourhood playgrounds are becoming rather sad things. We need doorstep play, particularly in deprived areas.

“The issue is far more acute at parish council level. Unitary authorities or towns might have funding but it doesn’t reach the very local level. We lose pocket parks, swings, sandpits. And it’s not just capital. The big issue is often maintenance.”

Another pressing issue in many communities is the need to update playgrounds that go unused because of what locals say are unappealing designs.

Louise Whitley and Sarina da Silva made headlines two years ago when they spoke out against a segregated playground at the Baylis Old School development in south London. Now they are campaigning again, this time for funding for the play area built next to the social housing on the site.

“The playground is poor quality. Nobody has used it much since the development was built. It’s always empty,” says Da Silva. “It has a very dirty flooring that you wouldn’t want a toddler on, and basic equipment that would not entertain any child for even a few minutes.”

The original developers, Henley Homes, say the upkeep is now the responsibility of Guinness, which manages the social housing. Guinness says it is willing to help maintain the playground or support efforts by the community to fundraise for structural changes.

But Whitley says the quality of play areas should be more of a priority when they are built.

“Developers are building huge amounts of housing and community space with it across the country. They build sites with promises of being family friendly but despite lovely artists’ impressions the reality after planning permission is given is very different.

“We are left looking for ways to replace them with equipment children actually want to use.”

Many of her local playspaces need help. Just across the road is the Lollard Street adventure playground, built in 1955 on the philosophy of risky play.

On a sunny day as the Easter holidays start, director Adrian Voce is welcoming back children from nearby tower blocks after the long lockdown. There is a happy buzz in the air as children leap across the site on ropes and clamber up huge wooden structures. But this much-loved space is at risk of closing.

“It’s pretty bleak. We have enough money left for a year, digging into reserves,” Voce says. “After that, if more money doesn’t start coming in, we will have to close. I’ve been turned down for seven grants in a row in the past few weeks, including the mayor of London’s Covid recovery fund. In all the years I’ve worked in play it’s never been this bad.

“People think, ‘Oh play, that happens anywhere,’ but actually it’s about the space. Children need space where they aren’t in the way of cars or adults.”

Some adventure play sites have turned to crowdfunding, but Voce says this isn’t always ideal. “What we really need is long-term investment for staff and maintenance.”

Over lockdown people have used parks and local spaces more than ever. But the need for play investment comes at a time when parks are struggling for funds more widely.

In parliament last month, the housing minister Luke Hall confirmed parks and green spaces received £16m between 2017 and 2019.

Anita Grant, head of the charity Play England, points out how little this is. “£16m over three years on 27,000 parks is £200 per park. The abysmal funding of parks right now means the degradation of the play areas will continue and get worse.”

Grant manages adventure play spaces in Islington, north London, that have been promised 15 years of funding in what she says is an “amazing” commitment from the council. But she worries that in this atmosphere children are not going to be prioritised.

“What children need and benefit from is often inconvenient to adults. It’s messy, noisy, they want to take risks, but even when there is money it goes on railings and pathways, not children and their play.”

Devon and Cornwall Police have thanked everyone involved in peaceful and lawful protests today across the two counties.

Lee Trewhela www.devonlive.com

The force took to social media to thank organisers and participants following peaceful Kill the Bill protests in Plymouth, Exeter, Truro and Newquay as well as a protest against development at the Carbis Bay Hotel, which will host the G7 Summit.

Three hundred people protested in Truro against the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill with hundreds more in Plymouth and Exeter, and 200 people demonstrating against landscaping work being carried out at the Carbis Bay estate which will host world leaders in June.

The events took place without any significant reports of public order incidents and with no arrests made.

Leading up to the protest officers liaised with the organisers to ensure compliance with the current law and to protect the communities. Following changes to Covid-19 regulations, there is now an exemption to allow peaceful protests. However, this exemption only applies if the organisers take the required precautions to ensure people’s safety is not put at risk.

A police spokesperson said: “The right to protest is well established in this country and police forces have a long history of upholding this by policing by consent and ensuring the safety of all those exercising that right.

“Protest policing is challenging and complex – and even more so during these unprecedented times. Public safety is, and always will be, police’s top priority and this hasn’t changed throughout our approach to the pandemic.”

Chief Superintendent Matt Longman, protest commander for Devon and Cornwall Police, added: “I would like to thank the organisers and participants for adhering to the current restrictions while protesting today.

“Those attending engaged positively with our officers, exercising their right to protest in a peaceful and lawful way.

“We have always sought to find the right balance between the rights of protesters and those of residents and businesses, while also considering the very real risks from the spread of the virus.

“Coronavirus is a deadly disease and the current legislation in relation to it aims to prevent its spread. At this time officers are trying to strike a balance between established rights and policing of Covid restrictions in an effort to maintain the confidence of all groups of our communities.”

“We must remember that the threat of Covid remains and we must do all we can to stick within the restrictions to help keep people safe.”

“As the current restrictions begin to lift over the coming months, we are asking the public to continue to play their part so that we do not undo all of the good work.”