§ Dr. IddonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment for what reasons it is the official policy of the Employment Service not to provide public toilets in its buildings. [42768]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Leigh Lewis to Dr. Brian Iddon, dated 21 May 1998:
The Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked me to reply to your question regarding the reasons why the Employment Service does not provide public toilets in its buildings. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Employment Service.Historically, the Employment Service has not provided public toilets in its buildings largely because of the high cost of provision and maintenance which would be needed in our 1,000 plus Jobcentres. The majority of Jobcentres are in fact located in town centres where public toilet provision is available. I would also expect staff to by sympathetic to anyone with an urgent need to use a toilet, especially children, if they were made aware of the difficulty and public toilets were not to hand.In addition, in response to the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act, we are installing toilet facilities for disabled clients on a rolling basis, where it is feasible to do so. More generally, with the introduction of the New Deal programmes including the impending extension of the New Deal programme for Lone Parents later this year, we are reviewing our current policy on the provision of public toilets. The recommendations arising from the review should be available within the next month.I hope this is helpful.