Supplementary Memorandum by the Department
for Communities and Local Government
Thank you for inviting me to present oral evidence
to the Committee regarding its inquiry into public toilet provision.
This offered a valuable opportunity to set out again why the Government
believes that good quality public toilets are important, and the
positive steps that we are taking with local authorities and other
local stakeholders to improve provision.
I promised to follow up by providing further
details on the following issues that we discussed:
1. Why are certain cafes and large coffee shop
chains not required to provide toilets for their customers?
2. Local Authority Business Growth Incentives
(LABGI)—how has this been used to fund public toilets?
3. Changing Places campaign—Government's
proposals for encouraging provision for the severely disabled.
I deal with each of these in turn below. I also
include a short note on what the Department for Transport are
doing to improve toilet provision at train stations—this
was also an issue of interest to the Committee.
Why are certain cafes and large coffee shop chains
not required to provide toilets for their customers?
Section 20 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act 1976 gives local authorities a power though which
they can require toilets to be provided and maintained for public
use in a wide range of premises—ie any place providing entertainment,
exhibitions or sporting events, and places serving food and drink
for consumption on the premises. This is a discretionary power
which may be used where a lack of customer toilets causes a problem
either on the premises or nearby. But the exercise of the power
is contestable, and a local authority needs to be able to show
that its use is reasonable in all the circumstances.
Local authorities normally use the British Standards
guidance on sanitary installations to determine the appropriate
number of customer toilets when considering premises licence applications.
In addition the Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Regulations
1992 can be used to require toilet provision for staff.
We believe that local authorities are best placed
to make these judgements, taking into account the specifics of
each case and the British Standards guidance. The Strategic Guide
aimed to ensure that local authorities are aware that they hold
this power, and use it appropriately as local circumstances dictate.
Local Authority Business Growth Incentives (LABGI)—how
has this been used to fund public toilets?
LABGI provides an incentive for local authorities
to promote economic growth in their area by allowing them to retain
a share of increases in revenue derived from business rates. It
is for local authorities to decide how their reward is spent.
In May 2008, Hertsmere Borough Council decided
to use £40,000 LABGI funding to pilot a community toilet
scheme in Borehamwood for 12 months, starting this summer. The
report to the Executive Committee recommending the approach referred
to CLG's Strategic Guide, which highlighted the potential benefits
of the community toilet scheme approach. This shows that the Guide
is already influencing the thinking of local authorities.
The Strategic Guide also refers to the Croydon
Business Improvement District which, in partnership with the Whitgift
Shopping Centre and National Car Parks renovated, and now maintains,
two public toilets in the town centre that had previously been
closed for some years.
Changing Places campaign
We are pleased to be working with the Changing
Places campaign on the appropriate design of toilet facilities
for severely disabled adults. These needs were already partley
addressed in the 2004 Edition of the Advisory Document of Part
M (Access to and use of buildings) of the Building Regulations
included a new clause (5.6) on the desirability of including separate
facilities in large developments for baby changing and an enlarged
unisex toilet incorporating some suitable facilities for severely
disabled adults.
Since then, CLG officials have been considering
with the Changing Places consortium how policy might further develop.
We are working with the British Standards Institute on the latest
update of "BS8300 Design of Buildings and their approaches
to meet the needs of disabled people—Code of practice",
a revised draft of which was issued for public comment at the
end of May this year.
The proposed revisions to BS8300 include, for
the first time, detailed technical guidance on the design of Changing
Places facilities. This will provide a strong platform for considering
possible further changes to Part M, as well as providing technical
guidance for planning authorities and developers wishing to include
facilities in future developments. We do not propose dedicated
funding for this particular type of provision, but the Guide highlighted
some of the options that may be used to support provision of Changing
Places toilets. Consultation closes on 31 July and the review
should be completed by the end of the year.
We are also aware that the disabled drivers
mapping portal[17],
available via the Directgov website, lists amongst other things
accessible public toilets in 115 towns and cities across the UK
including the location of Changing Places facilities. So far,
details of 21 such facilities are available and work is ongoing
to include details of more than 20 locations over the coming weeks.
Public toilets at train stations
We have made good progress in ensuring that
colleagues at the Department for Transport are aware of the importance
of good public toilet provision. Rosie Winterton, Minister of
State for Transport, endorsed the Strategic Guide with the following
words:
"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. I therefore welcome this Guide
which supports and supplements the work that we are doing to help
transport operators and local authorities make access improvements
that really matter."
And the Guide also highlighted DfT's "Access
for All Small Scheme Funding", which has helped to improve
accessible toilet facilities at over 40 locations.
Under the 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.
17 This can be accessed at: www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/MotoringAndTransport/Bluebadgescheme/DG
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