New funding announced in the Spring Statement will help to provide over 500 new Changing Places Toilets in England, including 3 new toilets in King's Lynn and West Norfolk enabling everyone to enjoy our local area with dignity and freedom.
Thousands of severely disabled people who need specialised facilities when they are out and about will benefit from over 500 new Changing Places toilets in England.
The Chancellor confirmed in his Spring Statement over £23.5 million has been allocated to 191 councils across England to install life-enhancing Changing Places toilets in public places and tourist attractions, dramatically increasing accessibility in areas where users want them most.
There are currently just over 1,300 registered Changing Places toilets in England – these are larger accessible toilets for people who cannot use standard accessible toilets, with equipment such as hoists, curtains, adult-sized changing benches, and space for carers. Today’s package will bring the total number of Changing Places toilets to 1,813.
An additional £6.5 million will be allocated in a further round later in 2022 and will focus on areas where there is little or no access to Changing Places toilets.
In a study by the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers in 2021 families and carers said the top locations where these facilities should be made available were country parks, open spaces, tourist attractions and transport networks, as the journey to the destination is a key factor in planning a day out. The top venues were beaches and the seaside, motorway services and parks or gardens.
Muscular Dystrophy UK co-chairs the Changing Places consortium and has been heavily involved throughout this process. The charity will be providing specialist expertise to support local councils that are awarded funding. This expertise will include:
- Dedicated advice and information and Changing Places officers to support councils
- Changing Places manual and training
- Connecting authorities and facilitating a collaborative network of support
- Signposting to suppliers and installation companies
The Changing Places Consortium
Launched its campaign in 2006 on behalf of the over 250,000 people across the UK who cannot use standard accessible toilets. This includes people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, as well as older people.
There are 13.9 million disabled people in the UK. People with profound and multiple learning disabilities, as well people with other physical disabilities often need equipment and space to allow them to use the toilets safely and comfortably. With a lack of CPTs, many people are effectively excluded from participating in the fuller life available to the rest of society.
National Disability Strategy
The National Disability Strategy launched on 28 July marks the first collective cross-government endeavour to transform disabled people’s everyday lives.
The strategy is focused on the priorities that disabled people have highlighted and includes the widest-ranging set of practical actions to improve the lives of disabled people. Its focus ranges across public services, housing, transport, education, leisure, shopping, employment, and rights and perceptions.
