Local councils can apply for government funding to improve playgrounds and make them safer for children through a scheme launched yesterday.

There was no capping to how much the government planned to spend on the scheme that covered existing playgrounds falling under the responsibility of local councils, a spokesman for the local council’s secretariat said.

Local councils can apply for funds on providing a detailed report of what work needed to be done and an estimated cost. The report will then be evaluated by a committee.

Speaking during a visit to a Balzan playground, Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said explained that two inspectors from the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (formerly the Malta Standards Authority) had been tasked to inspect 148 playgrounds around the island that fell under the councils’ responsibilities.

Inspections started in April and, so far, the officials have visited 56 playgrounds and found that seven were in a bad state and had to be closed or have their equipment isolated until they were up to scratch.

While the authority will be carrying out annual inspections on all playgrounds, local councils will be checking them daily.

During the annual inspections, officers will ensure the criteria for playgrounds’ safety, listed in a national standards document, are adhered to. Standards include the need for fencing, safely designed benches and safe equipment.

The authority’s inspectors last month attended a course conducted by the UK’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in playground safety.

Earlier this year, the father of a seven-year-old boy who suffered brain injuries when he fell a height of five metres at Chadwick Lakes late last year, called for safer playgrounds and recreational areas. He called on the authorities to set up a group of experts who would regularly check such areas to ensure they are safe.