Hansard

I, too, am delighted to speak in the debate. As a member of the changing places toilets cross-party group, I, too, pay tribute to Jeremy Balfour for securing parliamentary time and for the extensive work that he has done on this important issue over the years. I also thank PAMIS, Enable Scotland and Capability Scotland for their contributions to the CPG and their wider work.

Why is adequate, hygienic and accessible toilet provision so important? It is about so much more than being caught short; it is about equality and ensuring that all people can go out and live life as fully as possible and that no one is left behind. As Jeremy Balfour emphasised, changing places toilets represent the difference between inclusion and exclusion. It is about dignity and making sure that pregnant and postpartum women, women on their periods, menopausal women and people with special needs and conditions such as urinary incontinence, Crohn’s disease and colitis are not isolated and can leave their homes without anxiety, fear or embarrassment.

Providing safe and accessible spaces is important in a dignified society. That requirement also encompasses safety, privacy and protecting the rights of women and girls to single-sex toilets, which was once again emphasised in the recent employment tribunal case Ms V Abbas v ISS Facility Services Ltd.

It is about ensuring that basic human needs are met—basic human needs for privacy, safety and dignity without fear. I was struck recently by a comment in Karen Ingala Smith’s brilliant book “Defending Women’s Spaces”, in which she referred to the “urinary leash” and the restriction of movement due to lack of access to toilets. Freedom, wellbeing, quality of life and the ability to participate in public life are all facilitated by something as seemingly mundane as a toilet.

I helped to care for my two elderly parents-in-law, who both suffered from dementia. A trip out, no matter how routine, required a lot of prior planning. I know exactly which towns near my home have accessible toilets, and I know the many that do not. This topic is close to my heart, because many carers have told me that they need accessible toilets to take the people who are in their care out for visits. It is about quality of life for those who are in danger of isolation. Accessible, clean and safe toilets are a basic human need.

Over the festive period, I spoke to constituents who shared with me their concerns and feedback that public toilets are either closed or filthy. Sadly, those that are not are rare. Toilets on station platforms are accessible only when there is a guard on duty, which is a barrier that prevents people from travelling. As my colleague mentioned, Dundee railway station did not even include a changing places toilet when it was redesigned. Thanks to Scottish Conservative campaigning, PAMIS and local activism, ScotRail eventually relented.

In the north of Scotland, fully accessible toilets are harder to come by. Many of the 267 changing places toilets are concentrated in Scotland’s central belt and urban population centres. Those are, of course, much needed, but provision falls away the further north you go. As Evelyn Tweed pointed out, the issue is not just in the west of Scotland—there is a significant issue the further north you go.

I pay tribute to Councillor Lois Speed, who campaigned for and successfully secured a changing places toilet in Arbroath. Too many north-east communities do not have fully accessible toilet facilities.

In its 2021-22 programme for government, the SNP Government was right to commit, as we have heard today, £10 million to changing places toilets, but the minister, Maree Todd, has confirmed that there are no plans to allocate and distribute the funds before 2025. What is the reason for that inaction? Why is it that the SNP can go full steam ahead with its overseas office network at a cost that is just shy of £9 million but cannot deliver on a £10 million promise of funding for fully accessible toilets? Meanwhile, the UK Government has already started distributing its own £30 million fund.

The SNP Government’s implementation gap has left so many people behind: people with disabilities and special needs; carers; women; and parents with children. The SNP Government must focus on its priorities and get a move on so that all people across Scotland can access toilet facilities that are suitable for their specific needs safely and with dignity.