AN ABERAERON-based charity plans to lobby the Welsh Government over what they claim is the threat to play provision in the county.

RAY Ceredigion was originally founded to help young people before evolving into an organisation which now supports all ages, but the charity has struggled to access funding and have now drawn up a petition to present to Cardiff Bay next month calling on the Welsh Government to maintain its commitments to play sessions.

“We are highlighting  the fact that the Welsh Government has made commitments to play that have not been followed through with any funding,” RAY Ceredigion’s executive officer Gill Byrne told the Cambrian News.

“Children and families are not benefiting from this new duty of play sufficiency and instead play provision is reducing across Wales and is under threat in Ceredigion.”

The petition – which has already attracted well over 300 signatures - calls on the Welsh Government ‘to provide designated funding for play provision across Wales, in line with the duty imposed on local authorities to provide a sufficiency of play for all children, and in particular to help play providers such as RAY Ceredigion survive and avoid closure’.

It continues: “This inability to secure any funding for play development and provision, despite a seeming commitment by Welsh Government, now puts RAY Ceredigion under threat of closure like so much provision across Wales.

“This petition calls on the Welsh Government to provide funds to secure the future of play in Ceredigion that benefits children and families in some of the most deprived wards.

“The benefits of play are recognised by the Welsh Government within its own legislation – the case for play is made, funding must follow.”

Ms Byrne said that RAY Ceredigion was one of only three projects out of the original 10 set up by the £20m Big Lottery Healthy Families programme in 2007 which still survived.

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