The government’s response to the Communities and Local Government Committee report on the Provision of Public Toilets has recently been published.
Whilst the government accepted that 'the report reinforces the importance of good quality public toilet provision for all members of society, and recognises the work already undertaken by many local authorities to improve the situation in their areas', it has failed to accept the recommendation of the Committee.
Committee chairman Dr Phyllis Starkey MP said: "It is extremely disappointing that the government has rejected our major recommendation that local authorities develop a public toilet strategy for their area, in consultation with the local community, to ensure that more toilets are available to the public. The Committee will be considering the government's response in detail in due course and will decide what further action it wishes to take."
This means that not only does it fall short of the British Toilet Association's demands for the government to place an obligation on local authorities to provide adequate public toilet facilities (the Public Health Act 1936 gives local authorities the power to provide public toilets, but imposes no duty to do so) but this report also fails to ensure that all who need to use public toilets in England will be provided with the facilities that they require, and deserve.
Despite the fact that the overall number of public toilets has declined in recent years, and the lack of reliable data makes it impossible to track the decline, the government has also failed to accept the Committee's recommendation that 'the government seeks a means of collecting this data, either through requiring local
authorities to provide figures from their own areas or by charging
the Audit Commission with resuming its collection of accurate information on the provision of public toilets’.
According to the BTA the government also failed to accept the Committee's recommendation '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)’.
The BTA urges all local authorities to produce a strategy on the provision of public toilets in their areas so that the British public, and the increasing numbers of visitors to this country, can enjoy the availability of public toilets when and where they are needed. BTA can provide assistance to those councils that may need it.