Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Royal Society for Public Health report entitled The decline of the great British toilet, published in May 2019; and if he will make a statement.

The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the report. Whilst the provision of public toilets is a matter for local authorities, we encourage councils to keep these important amenities open. At Budget 2018 the Chancellor announced a 100 per cent business rates relief for public lavatories in England, and the Government will introduce legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows. In addition the Department recently launched a consultation proposing changes to Building Regulations to create more Changing Places toilets for severely disabled people.