House of Commons - Communities and Local Government Committee

Select Committee on Communities and Local Government Committee Twelfth Report

2 Current provision

An unequal distribution and variety of public toilets

14. At the moment, the provision of public toilets varies massively according to the local authority. A key consideration underlying this variation is that Section 87 of the Public Health Act 1936 gives local authorities a power to provide public toilets, but imposes no duty to do so.

15. The British Toilet Association (BTA) is a campaigning body established in 1999 and has 160 members, of whom 61 are local authorities. Since 2006, it has held an annual "Loo of the Year" award, with Highland, Brighton and Hove, Westminster, and Blackpool coming top of the list of those local authorities that have high levels of provision and standards of public toilets. The BTA finds much to praise:

Many Local Authorities continue to attach a high priority to their public toilet service and there are a significant number of existing public conveniences currently being refurbished as well as new facilities being constructed. There are many fine examples of best practice in operation in spite of the discretionary nature of the service.[18]

16. Indeed, some public toilets can be viewed as tourist attractions in their own right. VisitBritain—Britain's national tourism agency, which markets Britain worldwide and develops England's visitor economy—cites the public toilet block in Gravesend, which was shortlisted for the 2008 "Best New Building in Britain" awards by the Royal Institute of British Architects. It goes on to say that "in times past…local authorities built public toilets on a grand scale to impress visitors."[19] Peter Hampson told us about a public toilet in Scotland "where the gents toilets is opened up on a particular day for the ladies to go and look at it because it has the most splendid urinals and shiniest brass in the country".[20]

17. While some local authorities have excellent public toilets, not all have such high standards of provision. Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool and Edinburgh are cited by the BTA as cities with poor public toilet provision; and the South Bank (between Lambeth Bridge and the Tate Modern) has over 14 million visitors each year, yet no public toilets at all are provided there by Lambeth Council.[21]

18. The lack of compulsion of local authorities to provide public toilets has inevitably led to a patchwork of standards and availability of public toilets across the country. The Government's Strategic Guide highlights this point: "Over many years a significant number of toilets have closed or have been allowed to deteriorate. Reductions have occurred in all English regions, but especially so in London and the south-east and in some metropolitan areas in the midlands and the north."[22]

Signage

19. Even where public toilets do exist, they are often poorly signed which means that the public, especially visitors, cannot find them. Peter Hampson told us that staff at the Tourist Information Centre in Southport were continually asked where the public toilets were, despite the fact that new public toilets were "literally 10 yards across the street".[23] As Clara Greed points out, lack of clear signage in British cities "has often resulted in people walking around desperately trying to find toilets" and, in contrast, she cites the example of Shanghai, where maps on rubbish bins at street corners show the location of the nearest public toilet.[24]

20. In 2001, the Australian Government launched its National Toilet Map, which identifies more than 13,000 public toilets across Australia. The map was created to help people with incontinence regain their independence, but it also benefits other groups such as tourists. The map includes information on disability access and opening hours for most of the toilets.[25] Nearer to home, the Government's supplementary memorandum describes the disabled drivers mapping portal, which "lists amongst other things accessible public toilets in 115 towns and cities across the UK including the location of Changing Places facilities."[26]

21. A technological approach to signage is the Westminster City Council's SATLAV initiative. For 25p, visitors can text "toilet" from their mobile phone to 80097 and will receive information about their nearest public toilet and opening hours. The service covers council-run and leased toilets, toilets run by the Greater London Authority and London Underground and toilets located in private retail stores.[27] However, the available information is necessarily brief. When this facility was used in Parliament Square, the text received was as follows: "Yr nearest toilets: Parliament St 0800-2000, Broad Sanctuary 0900-1800, Leicester Sq & Covent Gdn toilets open 24 hrs".[28] The mobile phone text option is an interesting development and is likely to be refined and developed as technology improves and practical lessons are learnt, but clear, visible signs are a simpler and more effective way of informing the public about the location of public toilets. This example also highlights the problem of each local authority having its own ways of dealing with public toilets: the SATLAV in Westminster will not highlight available public toilets in Lambeth, for example, which may be closer than those elsewhere in Westminster. It also exposes gaps in provision within and between local authorities. The Strategic Guide contains photographs of signs used in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, which include information about the location and opening time of toilets, and sometimes the nearest alternative. We recommend that local authorities provide visible, clear signs for their existing public toilets, detailing such information as opening hours and location. Information about public toilet facilities and locations should also be provided in promotional leaflets for both locals and visitors and on local authorities' websites. This will also highlight those local authorities that have a high level of toilet provision and those that are lacking in toilet provision, enabling local people to press their local authorities for better provision.

22. We recommend that there should be standard public toilet signage across the country (possibly using symbols rather than text to allow for universal recognition, irrespective of language). We recommend that the Government and local authorities, in partnership, introduce best practice guidance on a standard approach to public toilet signage.

Costs

23. Local authorities are allowed to charge for toilet provision under the Public Health Act 1936. Recent sexual equality regulations—the Sex Discrimination Act (Amendment) Regulations 2008—removed a long-standing anomaly that meant authorities could charge for toilets that included cubicles, but not for those that contained urinals only.[29] This meant that in some public toilets women were charged, while men were not. The strategic guide welcomes this change in the law because it means that local authorities can charge for all public toilets, thereby giving them more freedom to plan their public toilet provision.[30] However, this change in the law is not approved by all: Clara Greed states "Some equality, equally bad for all! If payment is used as a way of controlling who enters [then] that is a joke…we observed young men simply jumping over the turnstile system and nobody dared to stop them!"[31]

24. The costs of installing and maintaining public toilets are considerable. According to Healthmatic—a company that designs, supplies and maintains public toilets in the United Kingdom and Ireland—automatic toilets (known as APCs or APTs) "cost typically £70k plus connections to the services and then a maintenance cost of up to £15k per annum". The cost for a stand-alone semi-automatic toilet, where access is automatically controlled within set times, is around £45,000 plus connection to services. The cheapest option is the traditional public toilet block: a standard block with four women's cubicles, one man's cubicle plus urinals and a cubicle compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act would cost around £140,000 plus connections to services. The costs of bringing services to the toilets can cost as much as £30,000, depending on their proximity to the sewerage system and to water and electricity supplies.[32]

25. The Changing Places Consortium campaigns for public toilets for severely disabled people that are spacious and clean, with suitable equipment. Martin Jackaman told us that these Changing Places toilets are more expensive because of the extra space required, in addition to the specific cost of installing a hoist and changing bench (around £8,000).[33]

26. The ongoing costs of maintaining public toilets vary, depending on the type of public toilet, whether it is attended and level of use. Healthmatic states: "Average cleaning is around £8-10k per loo, £1000 on consumables, £1,000 on NDR [non-domestic rates] and capital charges, building repairs, and other costs will vary."[34] Older facilities need to be updated, to comply with health and safety, and disability legislation.[35] The BTA quotes the figure of £25,000 to £40,000 per year for the cost of maintaining an attended facility.[36] To provide attendants for a public toilet open ten hours a day, seven days a week would require three staff at a salary cost of around £29,000, according to Healthmatics.[37]

27. BRADA quotes figures from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountability for the latest full year costs for public toilet provision in England for 2006-2007:

…we see a total expenditure (net of income) of £99.382m and…a total income of £4.617m. Conveniently, this allows us to say that the expenditure (less income) is about £100m and income £4.5m or that broadly that current income is a meagre 4.5% of expenditure. This means income across England would need to be increased 24 fold in order to reach break-even.[38]

Anti-social behaviour

28. People, especially older people, link public toilets with anti-social behaviour, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which cites examples of drug-taking in public toilets.[39] The BTA refers to the many reported illegal substance overdose deaths in public toilets in recent years and some local authorities' use of sharps disposal boxes inside public toilets: "This further alarms the ordinary public toilet user who, quite naturally, prefers not to share space with people who use public toilets as a base for their drug habit."[40]

29. Sexual activity in a public toilet is a criminal offence, under Section 71 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.[41] Chris Ashford, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Sunderland, states:

Research has found that this remains a law which is enforced. Between May and December 2004, 17 male defendants were proceeded against, resulting in 15 guilty verdicts, whilst in 2005 a further 46 males were prosecuted and 34 found guilty".[42]

However, Chris Ashford's memorandum suggests that sexual activity in public toilets is not as significant a problem as media reports may appear to indicate and his own research has shown great variations in the application of this law. He believes that sexual activity in public places will continue, no matter what enforcements are in place and that "it often remains undetected by the police until local media reports expose locations".[43] Furthermore, "media reports of public concern appear to be based on rumour, watching the traffic into a public convenience, toilet vandalism or typically in the more general area of 'cruising' activity, the depositing of sexual litter…. It does not appear to be based on being approached sexually in a public toilet."[44]

30. The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 allows the police, local authority officers and Community Support Officers to issue a fixed-penalty notice to anybody caught vandalising property such as public toilets.[45] Section 1 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 states that on-the-spot fines can be issued to people for disorderly behaviour, for destroying or damaging property and for behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. Anti-social behaviour might decrease further because of the new amendment to the 1936 Act that enables local authorities to charge for all public toilet facilities because vandals might be less likely to commit a crime if they have to pay before entering the public toilet.

31. The BTA maintains that "there needs to be a much higher, pro-active enforcement of the law, if public confidence in public toilets is to be restored"[46] and there is much that local authorities can do, within their existing powers, to prevent the social and financial costs of vandalism and anti-social behaviour. The Government memorandum highlights the benefits that attendants bring to public toilets: "Attendants can play a role beyond keeping toilets clean and well-stocked: they can also collect the fee from users (and provide change), assist people with special access needs, and deter vandalism and inappropriate use."[47] Regularly inspected toilets can also regain confidence in public toilets. The BTA supports this view:

We all feel much safer in a park or public garden or a public toilet, if we know there is someone 'in authority' looking after it and its customers…Public toilets are at the cutting edge of society and that is why the Loo of the Year Awards recognise the valuable roles played by toilet attendants, as well as mobile cleaning staff, in managing many of society's anti-social issues. They are certainly not just toilet cleaners.[48]

The City of London Corporation memorandum highlights the extra costs connected with staffed facilities, but states: "In the City's experience, however, the costs of staffing are on the whole outweighed by the benefit of reduced costs in dealing with the effects of vandalism and other examples of anti-social behaviour."[49]

32. We recommend that local authorities can and should exercise existing legislative powers to prevent anti-social behaviour.

33. There is a perception by the general public that unattended public toilets are seen as threatening places, which puts people off using them, which in turn invites more anti-social activity. We recommend that local authorities study the benefits and cost effectiveness of providing attended public toilets, or at least ensuring regular inspections, so that the public regains its confidence in using them.

Charging

34. In Help the Aged research, about 1,000 respondents said that they would be happy to pay 10p or 20p to have public toilets in a good state of repair.[50] Peter Hampson told us that the minimal charge is more of a disincentive to antisocial behaviour, such as vandalism, than an attempt to cover costs.[51] The Inconvenience Committee of Blue Badge Guides argues strongly that provision should be free because of the otherwise negative impact on tourists, who might not have ready access to the change required to cover the small charges.[52] In the 98 London Underground stations that have public toilets, most are free, with eight charging 10p or 20p. According to London Underground, charges are made "for a variety of historical reasons, including discouraging anti-social behaviour."[53]

35. Automatic public toilets (APTs) are necessarily fee-paying public toilets. The Government praises these toilets for being fully accessible, less vulnerable to vandalism and "self-cleaning after use and in exchange for commercial advertising can offer, in certain circumstances, a cost-neutral option for the local authority."[54] However, according to Clara Greed, APTs are extremely expensive to run, serving one person at a time and are not ecologically friendly—using a lot of water to clean after each use. There is also general unease among people about walking directly into a toilet cubicle from a busy street.[55] The BTA highlights this feeling of unease: "Many people, particularly the elderly, are frightened of using one of the automatic types of public toilet, fearing they may get locked in, or spray washed or exposed by an automatic door opening."[56]

36. At one of our oral evidence sessions, the BTA was asked whether a high-quality public toilet system existed, which Britain could emulate. Richard Chisnell, Chair of the BTA, described public toilets in Switzerland, where a commercial company has taken over the running of public toilets on a 25 or 30-year lease.[57] These McClean toilets are often found in central locations in existing retail units with an ordinary shopfront, with a range of toiletry goods for sale, creating the designer "toilet shop".[58] The current charge for use is SFr 1.50, which equates to just under 80p. There are some obvious advantages to such a system, but as Clara Greed states, "While this commercial approach provides a good service, it is expensive and appropriate only to prime locations where reasonable returns can be made."[59] The BTA have tried to persuade local authorities to look into using McClean, but none so far has decided to out-source its public toilet provision to McClean.

Equality issues

AGE DISCRIMINATION

37. We received many memoranda from organisations specifically representing older people, with other memoranda citing age discrimination as being an important issue when considering the provision of public toilets.[60] Older people rely on public toilets, a fact raised in evidence submitted by Help the Aged:

We are more likely to suffer from conditions such as incontinence, urgency and prostrate problems as we age. It is estimated that urinary incontinence affects around 6 million people in the UK; more than half are over 65 and the majority are women. They rely on the availability of public toilets so they can go out without fear of accidents.[61]

38. Baroness Andrews highlighted the need to address the provision of public toilets in the context of older people:

In terms of people who are shut out of the local community, for instance the ageing population and one which proportionately will be more disabled, it is appalling they are not able to access a decent public toilet, and that is certainly one of our priorities. Older people are consumers but are producers as well, and they contribute to the local economy.[62]

The Government's Strategic Guide cites the 2001 census to show that our population is an ageing one: "The 2001 census shows that the 65+ age group had increased by 31 per cent. (to 9.4 million) whereas those aged 16 and under had fallen by 19 per cent. (to 11.5 million)."[63]

39. The Government has placed a duty on local authorities and primary care trusts to carry out a joint strategic needs assessment of the health and well-being needs of the local community.[64] This assessment connects with the objectives of Public Service Agreements (PSAs), including PSA 17, which aims to tackle pensioner poverty and give older people more independence. Adequate public toilet provision is a means by which local authorities can make a direct contribution to the success of PSA 17, a point made to us by Pamela Holmes.[65] PSA 17 has five key indicators over the three-year Comprehensive Spending Review period 2008-2011, three of which apply directly to older people and the provision of public toilets: healthy life expectancy at 65; satisfaction with home and neighbourhood among the over-65s; and the extent to which older people receive the support they need to live independently at home."[66] Local authorities have a key role in contributing to the success of PSA 17. We recommend that local authorities ensure that public toilets are taken into account in needs assessments of older people and in supporting the independence of older people.

DISABILITY

40. An estimated 10 million people in Britain have disabilities and more than one third of people aged over 50 are registered as disabled in some way.[67] Public authorities are required by the Disability Equality Duty to consider all sectors of the society they serve. The BTA supports this point, stating that "if we are to encourage inclusivity within our society we have to provide adequate toilet facilities for members of society with serious mental or physical impairment."[68] Martin Jackaman argued that

the Disability Equality Duty places a responsibility on local authorities to do more. [The Changing Places Consortium] focuses on the needs of people with profound disabilities…. Some local authorities have been very active, such as Nottingham and Bradford, others have done nothing at all.[69]

Following passage of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the number of toilets with facilities for disabled people has increased by 16 per cent, from 3,054 in 1994 to 3,533 by 2000, even though the overall number of public toilets has fallen. However, the Act has consistently, if largely anecdotally, been cited as an excuse used by local authorities to close toilets that they think would be difficult to improve to the required standards.

41. The Chartered Institute of Wastes Management suggests that "many authorities have used [the Disability Discrimination Act] as a mechanism to close toilets altogether" and maintains that "provision is worse than before the Disability Discrimination Act legislation was passed!"[70] ENCAMS, the environmental charity best known for running the "Keep Britain Tidy" campaign, also believes local authorities have used the Disability Discrimination Act as an excuse for closing public toilets: the Act "was not intended to reduce the level of service for everybody."[71] The Government points out that the legislation should not be used in this way (providers are required to alter toilets only if the adjustments are "reasonable") but says nothing on whether councils have in fact acted in this way.[72]

42. However, a "reasonable" adjustment can be a minor alteration, as Mike Bone, Director of the BTA, stated:

…for poorly-sighted people [councils] can paint the walls so that the hand rails in the facilities are white ones that stand out against the coloured background. That does not cost a lot of money. They can put some rails up which does not cost a lot of money, so there are quite a few things that can be done at very little expense if people have the will to improve disabled facilities without pulling them down and starting again.[73]

Such an adjustment helps to achieve the objective of providing public toilets for all. The Changing Places Consortium states:

It is now accepted and expected that everyone has a right to live in the community, to move around within it and to access all its facilities. Government policy promotes the ides of 'community participation' and 'active citizenship', but for some disabled people the lack of a fully accessible toilet is denying them this right.[74]

The Changing Places Consortium campaigns for public toilets that are spacious and clean, with suitable equipment for severely disabled people, including a height-adjusted adult-sized changing bench and hoist, and the Government's supplementary memorandum supports and promotes Changing Places public toilets.[75] According to the consortium, there are "approximately 40,000 people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, the majority of whom need Changing Places toilets…And the number of people with complex disabilities is growing."[76] Martin Jackaman described how the Changing Places Consortium wants local authorities to be more proactive in creating toilets for severely disabled people, alongside standard disabled toilet provision.[77]

43. The provision of toilets for disabled people is under consideration by the British Standards Institute (BSI), the United Kingdom's national standards body. Work is currently being done on the first five-yearly review of the British Standard BS8300, which concentrates on "the provision of, and facilities within, toilets for disabled people within buildings used by the general public."[78] As the BSI memorandum states: "A Standard is a document defining best practice, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body (such as BSI). Each standard is kept current through a process of maintenance and reviewed whereby it is updated, revised or withdrawn as necessary."[79] The proposed 2008 edition of BS8300 "includes additional recommendations for a special type of toilet accommodation called 'Changing Places'…for people with profound and multiple disabilities who may need a changing bench, a hoist system or shower facilities."[80] We welcome this proposed addition to the British Standard BS8300.

44. No local authority should use the Disability Discrimination Act as an excuse to close down public toilets for general use.

45. We recommend that local authorities make appropriate provision for disabled public toilets, taking the British Standard relating to the provision of disabled public toilets as their primary guideline, We recommend that local authorities, in planning their public toilet provision, should not neglect provision for severely disabled people, and we encourage them to establish specialist disabled toilets in major centres of population.

GENDER

46. Women take longer to go to the toilet because of "a range of sartorial, biological and functional reasons…Women have more functions than men [and] at any time about a quarter of all women of childbearing age will be menstruating, whereas pregnant women, those at menopause and those with diabetes…will need to use the toilet more often."[81] The Government's Strategic Guide states that women make up more than half the UK population, with a higher proportion of older people being women, yet women are catered for on a 50:50 basis, and sometimes on a 70:30 basis in favour of men.[82] There is more provision for men, primarily because of the smaller space that urinals take[83] and also, according to the BTA, "Britain's public toilets were established in an age when men walked, cycled or caught a bus to work and women stayed at home to raise the family."[84]

47. British Standard BS6465 Part 1 2006 is the Code of Practice for the design of sanitary facilities and scales of provision of sanitary and associated appliances. It has been updated to correct the historical position of women having fewer appliances in toilets than men and is being further updated to comply with requirements in the Gender Equality Duty.[85] Clara Greed compares the current British Standard BS6465 with those in the Far East:

Japan is at the centre of the restroom revolution. Standards as to geographical distribution of toilet provision are very high, and ratios of 2:1 in favour of women are to be found in terms of numbers of places to pee.[86]

48. The BTA is involved in the update of BS6465 Part 1 2006 and recommends

a ratio of provision of 2 female to 1 male facilities. Most people compare cubicle numbers only but the male urinals have to be added to male cubicles to ascertain the total male provision. Hence, when a toilet has three male urinals and two male cubicles - i.e. a total of five male facilities, the female toilet should have ten cubicles to achieve the 2:1 ratio.[87]

Other existing arrangements have been described as discriminatory against women. The Community Toilet Scheme (a scheme by which local authorities work in partnership with local businesses to provide toilets for the public) may not appeal to women, as many of the local businesses tend to be pubs, and women might be less happy entering a pub, particularly on their own and in the evening, than men are. [88] Pop-up urinals - such as 'Urilifts' - are open-air public urinals, designed to tackle the problem of street urination. They are permanently plumbed into the ground and are flush with the ground when not in use. The City of London Corporation is considering the use of pop-up urinals as "this style of toilet offers a high level of aesthetic value leaving the streetscene clear and uncluttered".[89] Its memorandum also mentions the use of "temporary portable open style urinals used now by some authorities and which can be stored when not in use."[90] The BTA points out that these approaches to tackling public toilet provision do not cater for the needs of women[91] and Clara Greed suggests that they may even be against the requirements of the Gender Equality Duty:

Providing male street urinals is not a solution for women, and is arguably against the requirements of the Gender Equality Duty, by which gender considerations need to be taken into account in respect of all aspects of local authority resource allocation, policy making, and service delivery.[92]

The use of male street urinals only deals with half the population. The point is that there needs to be an adequate number of public toilets for both women and men.

49. When local authorities work out ways in which they comply to the Gender Equality Duty in respect of public toilet provision, they should follow the relevant British Standard guidelines, ensuring that their provision covers the needs of women as well as men. We recommend that local authorities aim to provide a ratio of 2:1 public toilet provision in favour of women.

Transport

50. Travelling by public transport without good quality and readily-available public toilets is a concern for all, but especially those with certain medical conditions. The National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease states: "A lack of adequate facilities at bus and train stations and on board trains exclude many patients from using public transport".[93] The Government's Strategic Guide encourages the use of public transport in preference to private cars, but recognises that, because journeys may take longer by public transport, people will not leave their cars at home unless they are confident that they can find a toilet at public transport interchanges and in city centres, stating that around 60% of the public are unsatisfied with toilet facilities on trains.[94]

51. In the Strategic Guide's foreword, Rosie Winterton, Minister of State for Transport, endorses the objectives in the guide:

The ready availability of public toilets is an important issue for everyone using public transport. The Department for Transport is particularly keen to ensure that toilets at train stations and on trains and aeroplanes are available and accessible to disabled passengers.[95]

52. There are 98 London Underground stations that have toilet facilities available for general use, of which 16 have disabled access. By 2010, London Underground hopes to have step-free access from the platform to the street at 25 per cent of its stations and existing public toilets at those stations will be converted for disabled access. London Underground is auditing its public toilet facilities and reviewing its policy. The BTA has been commissioned to survey toilets across the network, advising on layout, maintenance and charging.[96] We welcome the audit of disabled toilet access and the policy review being undertaken by London Underground.

53. The Minister said that the Government had had contact with the Department for Transport about grants available for improving station facilities.[97] According to the Government's Strategic Guide, the Department for Transport's Access for All Small Scheme Funding is providing around £7 million a year for which train operators, local authorities and others can bid to improve the accessibility of train stations, reflecting local needs.

54. Network Rail provides public toilet facilities in the 18 largest stations that it manages. It charges a fee (30p since January 2008), which allows Network Rail "to provide first class facilities which are well managed and maintained."[98] According to its written evidence, Network Rail states that many of their public toilets are currently being upgraded and it is committed to adhering to the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. It states that:

Network Rail recently sent a submission to the Department for Transport's consultation on its disabled people's accessibility code for stations, which includes access to public toilets. Network Rail will comply with all proposed standards in the new code on toilet design and layout, staffing and hours of operations.[99]

55. The London Assembly's paper, "An Urgent Need: The State of London's Public Toilets", has two recommendations in relation to transport and public toilets. The first is that Transport for London, train operating companies and boroughs study how the provision of public toilets in and around stations and other transport interchanges can be provided, improved, maintained and signposted. The second is that:

the Mayor should extend his policies to improve public toilet provision, currently in operation for the Underground and surface transport, to those national rail services which come under his control. We recommend the Mayor include the requirement to provide public toilets in any tendering process for station upgrades in those national rail services that come under his control.[100]

56. The Government's supplementary memorandum raises the issue of franchising arrangements:

Franchisees are expected to maintain onboard provision of toilets where appropriate and to maintain existing facilities at stations where they are the Station Facility Owner. The Rail White Paper "Delivering a Sustainable Railway" (July 2007) earmarked £150 million to modernise 150 stations across the country which will focus on medium-sized stations that are run down or lack basic facilities and addresses any area that the railway has neglected for too long, which might include public toilets, although it does not explicitly say so.[101]

We agree with the London Assembly's recommendation that Transport for London, train operating companies and boroughs study how the provision of public toilets in stations and other transport interchanges can be provided, improved, maintained and signposted. We endorse the London Assembly's recommendation that the Mayor should extend his policies to improve public toilet provision, currently in operation for the Underground and surface transport, to those national rail service that come under his control. The Mayor should include the requirement to provide public toilets in any tendering process station upgrades in those national rail services that come under this control.

57. We recommend that local authorities and train operators make full use of the Department for Transport's Access for All Small Scheme funding of £7 million a year to ensure that there are improved, accessible toilet facilities.

58. We recommend that Network Rail carry out an audit of existing public toilets at mainline stations to locate the shortfalls in its public toilet provision.

18 Ev 24 [BTA] Back

19 Ev 52 Back

20 Q57 The toilets referred to are at Rothsay Pier, Isle of Bute (www.isle-of-bute.com/victoriantoilets). Back

21 Ev 24 [BTA] Back

22 CLG, Strategic Guide, p 21. Back

23 Q 42 Back

24 Clara Greed, "Taking Stock: an Overview of Toilet Provision and Standards", p 14. Back

25 www.health.gov.au Back

26 Ev 48 Back

27 CLG, Strategic Guide, p 39. Back

28 Text message (personal research) 02/07/2008. Back

29 CLG, Strategic Guide, p 28. Back