PET(4)-05-11 Paper 15a

P-03-292 Public Toilet Provision

Petition wording

We, the undersigned, call upon the National Assembly for Wales to investigate the health and social well-being implications resulting from public toilets closures and to urge the Welsh Government to issue guidance to local authorities to ensure adequate public toilet provision.

Link to petition:  http://senedd.assemblywales.org/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=887

Petition raised by: Cllr Louisa Hughes

Number of signatures: 430

Supporting information:

The state of public toilets in Wales

From research conducted by Age Cymru in Spring 2010, 434 older people from across Wales, with a representation from every local authority, were asked the following question:

‘How good is the access to public toilets in your local area? Are they safe and of a high standard?’

• The average rating given to public toilets by 434 older people, from across Wales, is 3 out of 10
• 31 per cent (134 of 434) gave public toilets a rating of 0 out of 10
• 41 per cent (177 of 434) gave public toilets a rating of 0 or 1 out of 10
• 54 per cent of older people gave public toilets in their area a rating of 3 or below (out of 10).
• 61 per cent of older people gave a rating of less than 5 out of 10 for public toilets in their area.
• Only 3 per cent (12 people from 434) gave public toilets in their area a rating of 10 out of 10

Nowhere to Go report into public toilet closures in Wales published by Help the Aged in Wales in January 2009 states that:   

1. 95 per cent of respondents found that their local public toilets are not open when they need them;
2. 79 per cent of respondents do not find it easy to find a public toilet;
3. 62 per cent of respondents agree that the lack of public toilets in their area stops them from going out as often as they would like;
4. 78 per cent of survey respondents told us that public toilet provision in their area does not meet their needs;
5. 80 per cent of respondents are frequently disturbed by the lack of cleanliness of their local public toilets;
6. 84 per cent of respondents find that safety concerns make public toilets unappealing;
7. 87 per cent of survey respondents felt that shops and businesses should make more effort to provide public toilet facilities;

Welsh Assembly Government: A statistical focus on Age in Wales states that in 2009 1 in 4 people are aged 60 or over. However by 2030, 1 in 3 people will be aged 60 or over.