Lack of Public Loos Raised in Parliament

12.28.31pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 26th Jul 2005

The closure of the borough's public lavatories was raised in parliament by MP Vincent Cable, when he questioned why there is no statutory obligation on local councils to meet, even, minimum standards. Cuts in provision across Britain have caused many MPs to sign a motion calling for the government to place an obligation on councils in the interest of public hygiene.

Vincent Cable said that his question had been treated with a certain amount of mirth - "schoolboy humour is still very common in the House of Commons" - but there was widespread recognition that there is a serious problem: "councils, like Richmond, have found it easy to save a little money by closing public loos since this is one of the few areas of local government spending not covered by statutory obligations and ring fenced money".

"There are genuine practical problems in preventing vandalism and maintaining standards of cleanliness. But it is totally unacceptable that substantial urban communities like Twickenham and Teddington should not have a public loo".

Hansard

Dr. Vincent Cable (Twickenham) (LD): What role his Department plays in encouraging local councils to provide a sufficient quantity and quality of public conveniences. [9714]

The Minister for Local Government (Mr. Phil Woolas): The provision and maintenance of toilets in public places is at the discretion of local authorities. There are many examples of good practice, such as the pioneering community toilet scheme in the London borough of Richmond upon Thames, which the hon. Gentleman will know. In due course, I will be inviting the British Toilet Association to meet me to discuss methods of spreading such good practice.

Dr. Cable: I thank the Minister for that excellent reply. He has acknowledged that this is one of the few areas over which local councils have complete discretion. Many are using that discretion to close public conveniences. What further action would he recommend to safeguard the interests of elderly and disabled people, in particular, and to preserve public hygiene in major town centres such as mine? Those centres have large numbers of visitors, many of whom are large consumers of alcohol.

Mr. Woolas: I thought that we were to be treated to a Liberal Democrat policy of spend-a-penny on income tax, as the hon. Gentleman's normal solution to problems is to raise taxes. However, there is a serious point behind the question, and I thank him for raising it. As I said in my reply, I do not want to impose further burdens on local government, although I acknowledge the role that it plays. I have invited the BTA to meet me to discuss how we may move this important agenda forward.