House of Commons Communities and Local Government The Provision of Public Toilets Twelfth Report of Session 2007–08 Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 6 October 2008 HC 636 Published on 22 October 2008 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 Communities and Local Government Committee The Communities and Local Government Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Communities and Local Government and its associated bodies. Current membership Dr Phyllis Starkey MP (Labour, Milton Keynes South West) (Chair) Sir Paul Beresford MP (Conservative, Mole Valley) Mr Clive Betts MP (Labour, Sheffield Attercliffe) John Cummings MP (Labour, Easington) Jim Dobbin MP (Labour Co-op, Heywood and Middleton) Andrew George MP (Liberal Democrat, St Ives) Mr Greg Hands MP (Conservative, Hammersmith and Fulham) Anne Main MP (Conservative, St Albans) Mr Bill Olner MP (Labour, Nuneaton) Dr John Pugh MP (Liberal Democrat, Southport) Emily Thornberry MP (Labour, Islington South and Finsbury) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at www.parliament.uk/clgcom Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Huw Yardley (Clerk of the Committee), David Weir (Second Clerk), Andrew Griffiths (Second Clerk), Sara Turnbull (Inquiry Manager), Josephine Willows (Inquiry Manager), Clare Genis (Committee Assistant), Gabrielle Henderson (Senior Office Clerk), Nicola McCoy (Secretary) and Laura Kibby (Select Committee Media Officer). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Communities and Local Government Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 1353; the Committee’s email address is [email protected] The Provision of Public Toilets 1 Contents Report Page Summary 3 1 Introduction 5 The need for and accessibility of public toilets 5 Why do public toilets matter? 5 Support for the Government’s Strategic Guide 7 2 Current provision 9 An unequal distribution and variety of public toilets 9 Signage 10 Costs 11 Anti-social behaviour 12 Charging 14 Equality issues 15 Age discrimination 15 Disability 16 Gender 18 Transport 19 3 Community Toilet Schemes (CTS) 22 Advantages of the CTS 23 Disadvantages of the CTS 24 4 Relevant existing local authority powers 27 Introduction 27 Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 27 Positive Letting Policies 28 Premises Licence Applications 28 Section 20 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provision) Act 1976 28 The Public Lavatories (Turnstiles) Act 1963 29 5 The role of local authorities in providing public toilets 30 Sustainable Community Strategies 30 Local Development Frameworks 30 Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) 31 Local Authority Business Growth Incentives (LABGI) 31 Performance Framework 31 6 People power 33 Community empowerment 33 Available guides and literature 34 7 A public toilet strategy 36 Conclusions and recommendations 38 2 The Provision of Public Toilets 8 Formal Minutes 42 Witnesses 43 List of written evidence 43 List of unprinted evidence 44 List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 45 The Provision of Public Toilets 3 Summary Lavatory humour is rife in British culture, but the provision of public toilets is no laughing matter: public toilets matter to everybody, regardless of their age, class, ethnic origin, gender, mental ability or physical ability. They are even more important to certain sections of our society, including older people, disabled people, women, families with young children and tourists. The first public toilets were introduced in 1852 and some of the finest surviving architectural examples date from this Victorian heyday. However, while the Public Health Act 1936 gives local authorities a power to provide public toilets, it imposes no duty to do so, and this lack of compulsion, together with a perception of nuisance associated with them, has arguably resulted in a steady decline in the provision of public toilets in recent years. This decline needs to be addressed. The Government’s Strategic Guide on the provision of public toilets, “Improving Public Access to Better Quality Toilets” was published in March 2008 and we support its content and its desire to take the “taboo out of toilets”. This guide highlights existing powers at the disposal of local authorities that can be used to improve public access to toilets. Many local authorities are aware of the costs of not providing public toilets, such as the need to clean up street fouling and the isolation of vulnerable groups who feel unable to go out without the assurance of access to public toilets, and they have developed various strategies for the provision of clean, safe, accessible toilets. Some have opted for a scheme where the local authority works in partnership with local businesses (such as pubs, cafes and shops) that make their own toilets available to non-customers. Other local authorities are less committed to the maintenance or provision of public toilets, which has led to great disparities between different towns and regions. It has been argued that some local authorities have used the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as an excuse to close public toilets, rather than bring them up to the standards required by the Act. Many organisations are campaigning for better provision of public toilets and provided much of our written and oral evidence. The British Resorts and Destinations Association (BRADA) highlights the importance of good-quality public toilets for tourists and other visitors, who make a crucial contribution to many local economies. The National Organisation of Residents’ Association (NORA) points out the negative impact on residents where lack of good provision results in street fouling, an increasing problem because of extended licensing laws. Help the Aged and other groups stress the importance of public toilets to give older people the confidence to leave their homes and to avoid problems arising from isolation and dependency. There is a strong lobby fighting for equal rights for disabled people, including the Changing Places Consortium, which has developed and introduced public toilets that are accessible to severely disabled people. Other campaigners work to redress the inequality of provision for women, arguing that, for a variety of reasons, there should be a 2:1 ratio in favour of women’s toilets, whereas current provision is 1:1 or significantly worse. The British Toilet Association is a campaigning group with 160 members, of whom 61 are local authorities, and promotes the 4 The Provision of Public Toilets “Loo of the Year” awards to recognise and reward excellence in public toilets. The Government’s White Paper “Communities in Control” supports community empowerment, giving local groups and organisations greater power to influence decisions that affect their local area. Together with the Government’s Strategic Guide on the provision of public toilets, this can give these organisations more leverage with which to carry out their campaigns. This report seeks to consider the evidence and to produce simple and practical recommendations to improve this important social amenity. Our over-riding recommendation is that the Government imposes a duty on local authorities to develop a public toilet strategy, which should involve consultation with the local community, for their own area. The duty of compiling and reviewing a public toilet strategy is a simple requirement that will go a long way towards achieving the right of people to have accessible and clean public toilets, wherever they live, work or visit. Our public toilet provision should not be allowed to decline at the current rate because of neglect arising from the lack of any clear strategy. The Provision of Public Toilets 5 1 Introduction The need for and accessibility of public toilets 1. Lavatory humour is deeply ingrained in British society, epitomised by films such as “Carry On at Your Convenience” and by countless jokes and euphemisms. However, going to the toilet is a universal need—there are blogs on the internet dedicated to people sharing their knowledge of clean and accessible toilets around the world1—and public toilets are a necessity for anyone who wants access to public spaces if those public spaces are not to be degraded. Public toilets are especially important for older people, disabled people, families (especially those with babies and very young children), women, tourists and visitors. Also, since opening hours were extended for licensed premises, there has been a greater need for public toilets to be open for longer. 2. There is a lack of reliable data about the numbers of public toilets still in operation. According to Government figures there is a consistent downward trend: “over many years a significant number of public toilets have closed or been allowed to deteriorate”.2 No precise figures exist; the Audit Commission published an annual review of the level of public toilet provision until 2000, but no longer does so.3 However, the trend is clear: Valuation Office Agency data on the number of toilets with a rateable value shows a decrease from 5,410 toilets in 2000 to 4,423 in 2008, a reduction of 987 or 16 per cent.4 Conversely, new types of provision, such as Community Toilet Schemes—a scheme by which local authorities work in partnership with local businesses to provide toilets for the public—may be increasing the number of toilets available to the public. Why do public toilets matter? 3.