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Economy and Fair Work Committee 18 May 2022

18 May 2022 · S6 · Economy and Fair Work Committee

Item of business

Town Centres and Retail

Ian Buchanan Watch on SPTV

Yes, absolutely. Thank you for your question—I was going to go on and speak about toilets. You cannot have accessible town centres unless you have accessible toilets, which goes back to what Adam Stachura and Nicoletta Primo have said about there not being an accessibility standard for housing but there being one for toilets. That has existed for years; it is laid out in the building regulations. There are a few different options and layouts for new accessible toilets, but the accessibility standard is there. With our access panels at Disability Equality Scotland, we see the variation between accessible toilets and the difference is vast. There are ambulant disabled toilets, which are sort of accessible and sort of in line with the building regulations; there are changing places toilets, which are fantastic for people who have profound and multiple learning disabilities; and then there are grotty little cubicles with the emergency red cord tied up, so if somebody were to fall, they would not even be able to hook it with their stick. As I said, you cannot have accessible town centres unless you have accessible toilet provision that, ideally, is in line with BS 8300, which is the accessible guidance for the built environment and which goes above and beyond the building regulations. I must admit that I am slightly obsessed with accessible toilets. Wherever I go, I always try to check out what the accessible toilet is like. I had a look when I came to the Parliament building and, unfortunately, the red cord in the accessible toilet was tied up. That is quite common; that is often because a cleaner has gone in to mop the floor, they have tied up the red cord and then they have forgotten about it. However, the idea is that the cord touches or lies on the floor so that, if someone were to slip and fall off the toilet seat, they could reach for the cord or hook it if they have a stick. The cord is often tied up on the grab rails, which are often not colour contrasted with the surrounding walls—white grab rails on white walls, for example—and that is poor for people with visual impairments. My phone is full of pictures of accessible toilets. The variations between them are just outrageous sometimes. What we would like, and what our members tell us that they would like, is for the current guidance on accessible toilets to be enforced and for businesses and service providers to be made aware that guidance exists. They should speak to their local authorities, who will support them. Building control and building regulations divisions will support them to implement the guidance, and access panels will be there to support them in maintaining the toilets, as well. 12:00

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Economy and Fair Work Committee 18 May 2022

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