Public Sanitary Facilities

HL Deb 08 May 2001 vol 625 cc182-3WA

Lord Morris of Manchester

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether local authorities are meeting their statutory duties concerning the provision of public sanitary facilities; and whether such facilities include provision for frail elderly and disabled people; and [HL2056]

What arrangements are in place for monitoring the discharge by local authorities of their statutory duties concerning the provision of public sanitary facilities and ensuring that such facilities include provision for frail elderly and disabled people. [HL2057]

Lord Whitty

Local authorities have a discretionary power under Section 87 of the Public Health Act 1936 to provide public toilets but are under no statutory duty to do so. We believe that local authorities, in partnership with their local communities, are best placed to decide what level of toilet provision is appropriate for their area.

For this reason, there is no best value performance indicator relating to the provision of public toilets. But local authorities are expected to supplement the national BVPIs with local performance indicators to reflect their own priorities and circumstances and to set targets for improving performance against these.