§ Mr. Raisonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is yet in a position to make a statement about the outcome of the experiment into the use of chemical closets for handicapped people.
§ Sir K. JosephI have now received the combined report of officials of my Department and of the Department of Design Research of the Royal College of Art which carried out a technical evaluation. The experiment which involved a controlled study of a cross-section of closets commercially available both in use in the home and in the laboratory showed that, while none of the closets tested is ideal for the purpose of meeting the needs of handicapped people, they are of some benefit. A considerable amount of information has been collected during the course of the study and I intend to write shortly to both local social services and health authorities about its findings.
I must in fairness make the point that existing commercially manufactured chemical closets are not designed 197W primarily for handicapped people and the disadvantages which they have been shown to possess in that context might not apply where the person was not handicapped. Nevertheless it is clear that certain categories of handicapped people, particularly those living alone or with frail spouses, may very often gain considerable benefit from using a closet rather than a commode which has to be emptied more frequently. This advantage will be brought to the notice of local authorities in the way described. I could not however, unreservedly commend chemical closets to local authorities because of the difficutlies which have been found to occur in practice—where frail people are very often responsible—in emptying them, insufficient stability in the case of handicapped people, in certain respects unsuitable design for this particular purpose and my doubts about the suitability of the chemicals used.
Apart from any advice which I can give to local authorities arising out of the study, I hope that it may be possible to interest a manufacturer in producing a closet specifically for use by handicapped people. I am also hopeful that it may be possible to commend to them a chemical closet on the development of which the Royal College of Art has been engaged for some time with financial support from my Department. I have informed the college that I am willing to make funds available for trials of prototypes which it is hoped to have ready shortly. The college is also working with the Water Pollution Research Laboratory on a research project on the treatment of human waste and among its aims it the evolution of a chemical for use in domestic closets which may be more suitable for handicapped people.