What the PM never received in his Christmas message from the BTA:
February 1st 2005

Sorry Prime Minister, but your Government really needs to take our toileting needs a little more seriously. Public toilet provision is a discretionary public service and, without adequate funding,many of Britain’s old and unloved public toilets are being closed.

Furthermore, with increasing Government pressure on decreasing financial resources,many Local Authorities are considering cutting back on their existing public toilet service, since they are not legally obliged to provide the service in the first place.

This is having a serious impact on the quality of life of both residents and visitors and also on Britain’s reputation abroad (our public toilet service used to the envy of the world).

It is easy to assume that we can all find somewhere else to ‘go’, but most other providers (cafes, pubs, restaurants and so on) prefer not to allow us in to use their facilities, provided at their expense for their customers. Indeed,why should they? Add to this the poor provision on many rail and bus routes and on London’s Underground and our visitors can be forgiven if they gain the impression that we’re not really interested in catering for their daily toileting needs. Beijing, by comparison, is investing £20m in creating 3500 five star tourist toilets before the 2008 Olympics.

And then there’s the absence of any proper regulations covering the provision of school pupil toilets,coupled with the Government’s apparent unwillingness to criminalise urinating (or defecating) in public places.

Indeed,we could all be forgiven for thinking that politicians don’t really care about this most basic everyday need, for every man,woman and child.

Enter The British Toilet Association – the campaigning body aiming to raise the profile of this important quality of life issue and persuade Governments and Assemblies to legislate and/or regulate for a better standard of ‘away from home’ toilet provision, wherever the need arises.

Fortunately,many toilet providers, including some 15% of Local Authorities, appreciate the customer or visitor pulling power of their toilets and are already proving how good standards of provision can actually benefit Britain’s business and reputation abroad.

The annual Loo of the Year Awards has been rewarding an increasing number of toilet providers since 1987, so we’re not talking rocket science here! It’s basic best practice and good management.

We have to convince all providers of ‘away from home’ toilets the importance of providing inclusive, properly equipped and regularly cleaned and maintained facilities.

So, come on Prime Minister, next time you visit a town or city, please imagine you are a visitor and visit the nearest public convenience (assuming of course you can find one!).After all, next to eating and drinking, toileting is essential for our daily survival and our various toileting needs deserve better consideration. Don’t you agree?

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