I for one am delighted that the UK Government has decreed that to alleviate the public’s growing safety, privacy and dignity concerns, any new, non-domestic buildings in England, or those that undergo a material change of use, (with some exceptions) must in future provide single sex toilet facilities – or, where there isn’t enough space, a ‘universal toilet’: a self-contained unit containing a toilet and washbasin for individual use. I couldn’t see anything about hand drying facilities in the Government’s new legislation information regarding universal toilets, or in the Building Regulations, but assume that these would need to be included too.
The new legislation follows the results of a consultation on the proposals, where responses showed that 81% agreed with the intention for separate single-sex toilet facilities and 82% agreed with the intention to provide universal toilets where space allows. Responses highlighted particular concerns from women, the elderly and the disabled who felt unfairly disadvantaged, since publicly accessible toilets are increasingly being converted into gender neutral facilities where users share cubicle and hand washing facilities. This leads to increasing waiting times in shared queues, decreased choice and less privacy and dignity. The new requirements will mean everyone can access appropriate facilities either through a separate single-sex space or a self-contained, universal toilet.
In addition, the Department for Education re-enforced the requirement for schools to comply with minimum standards, including that separate toilets for boys and girls aged eight and over are to be provided, (separate toilet facilities for boys and girls aged eight or over must already be provided in schools, except where the toilet facility is provided in a room that can be secured from the inside and is intended for use by one pupil at a time). While colleges are not subject to the same legal requirements, they should take the same approach given that the same safeguarding considerations apply.
The changes will affect England only, which is a shame for those in the rest of the UK, but I hope everyone else follows suit soon. Mind you, as one friend in Scotland groused: “That’s all very well, but what’s more important is that there’s a properly functioning facility in the first place. There are none whatsoever at my local bus or railway station, parks, in the town centre, or in most local supermarkets. The facilities in my local shopping centre have been closed for refurbishment for more than five months and some of us are wondering if they'll ever reopen." She has a point…