Public Lavatories
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a duty on local authorities to provide a minimum level of provision of free access to public toilets in (a) town and city centres and (b) other areas with high numbers of visitors and resident need.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
In keeping with our commitment to funding simplification, the Government has no current plans to introduce a statutory duty or ringfenced funding relating to public toilet provision. Local authorities best understand local needs and are therefore best placed to assess and manage toilet provision.
However, we recognise the importance of clean, safe public toilet provision and have taken steps to support local leaders. At the 2025 Spending Review, we committed more than £5 billion in new grant funding over the next three years for essential local services such as toilets. In addition, we continue to provide 100% mandatory business rates relief for separately assessed public toilets, reducing ongoing costs for local authorities.
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