BOYS need BINS
We are currently working closely with a number of organisations on developing a campaign to encourage government to devise a legal requirement for the inclusion of sanitary bins in Mens Toilets.
Over 2 Million men across the UK may have an urgent need to visit the toilet to remove or replace a stoma or incontinence product. Until now the soiled unit would have been disposed of in a Litter bin (if provided) or they may be forced to carry the used item away from the toilet perhaps to home.
Female toilets have always been well provisioned with sanitary bins in nearly every cubicle to cater for the disposal of towels & pads.
In recent months we have joined forces with Prostate Cancer UK and together we are gathering research and evidence to support our lobbying of national government to make a change in the current legislation to make it compulsory for providers to address the needs of all males who suffer with the problems of proper disposal.
A nationwide email survey has been distributed by supporting organisations to all their members and major organisations providing public toilets. These results will help us to try and understand the extent of the problems being faced by both the users and the providers.
WE NEED YOUR HELP !
The BTA are supporting the All Party Parliamentary Group for Bladder
and Bowel Continence Care’s campaign called Boys need Bins. The campaign aims to raise awareness of male incontinence and examine what facilities currently exist for incontinent men. We’ve partnered with
other national charities/associations to help achieve this:
- British Toilet Association
- Bladder Health UK
- International Longevity Centre (ILC)
- Men’s Health Forum
- Prostate Cancer UK
- Tackle Prostate Cancer
- Truckers Toilet UK
How you can help
We’d like to hear from those responsible for the hygiene provisions in your toilet facilities, to get an
understanding of the current need for male hygiene bins. If this isn’t you, please forward this email on to
the most relevant person in your organisation.
Our 5-minute survey is completely anonymous and asks for no personal details, so please share as much
detail as you want. There are no right or wrong answers.
https://project.tolunastart.com/tqsruntime/main?surveyData=ewqEMryCmi3LgTze45dHLMZCvYremf0kCcxST2LGWp2oe+/cAaUPfZeF1+qBMT9s
Your feedback will help us start conversations with the Government and key decision makers who can
create a positive change for men affected by incontinence.
The deadline for submission is Friday 26 May 2023.
If you have any questions about the survey, need support with completing it, or want more information on
this topic more generally, please contact campaigns@prostatecanceruk.org
With our thanks and best wishes,
Raymond
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Sending all our Members, Colleagues and Friends our warmest and very special wishes for the new year ahead. Thank you for your contiinued support of the British Toilet Asociations. Congratulations on campaigning and lobbying for the maintenance and improving standards in all of our “away from home” publicly accessible toilets.
With the new year – comes new hope that the government and the new toilet Commissioner will set out a corporate strategy and plan to redress the serious decline in the number of acceptable public facilities; and that we will see a considerable investment and improvement in the levels of provision and hygiene for all users.
The BTA will continue to partner and offer our full support to organisations and charities who are working with individuals and groups who have a wide range of Accessibility needs and particuarly those related to toileting.
On behalf of the Board of Directors and myself – we wish you all a happy healthy and prosperous 2023.
Raymomd Boyd Martin
Managing Director for the
British Toilet Association Limited
New Bill for Public Toilets moves to the Lords
In October of 2022 a “Levelling Up and Regeneration” Bill was introduced into Parliament by Ministers that will address a number of issues that the country facres ciming out of Covid and redressing the decline in local services and planning. The Bill has passed through the Commons and is now being read and debated in the House of Lords. It is hoped that the Bill could become an ACT of Parliament before Easter 2023.
It is with great delight that The BTA can report to all our Members Colleagues and Friends that within this Bill is a section specifically relating to much of our unrelenting work and ethos over the last twenty years.
Clauses 57, 58 and 59 refer directly to the appointment of a Toilet Commissioner whose priority will be to access the provision and need for public toilets throughout England and put in place a National Strategy for Local Authorities to follow – to devisie a Toilet Plan for each council area.
Working with an Independant Panel of advisors the commissioner will have to report to the Secretary of State for the Dept of Levelling Up and funding should become available for LA’s to enact some new developments.
The BTA will, of course, be offering oits full support to the Commissioner ,the government and Local Authorities in assembling and completing these tasks within the given timeframe. However, it is hoped that this is an exciting begining of a more sustained stategy for the future toilet provision across all the nations.
The following is an extract from the Hansard Report
New Clause 57
Review of England’s public conveniences
“(1) The Secretary of State must, within 6 months of the day on which this Act is passed, appoint commissioners to consider the level of need for public conveniences in England and the extent to which current provision matches that need.
(2) The Secretary of State must publish the report of the Commissioners before the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the day of their appointment.”
New clause 58—Public convenience plans—
“(1) Each tier 2 local authority in England must produce a Public Convenience Plan for their authority.
(2) A plan under this section must be formulated in consultation with local partners and the public.
(3) Such a plan much consider—
(a) the current level of public convenience provision,
(b) the current level of demand for such conveniences,
(c) what gaps there are in provision, and
(d) the needs of communities with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
(4) Central government must provide funding to local authorities to cover the costs of this new responsibility.”
New clause 59
Business rate relief scheme for business making toilets publicly available—
“The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision for a scheme under which if a business liable to business rates permits non-customers to use their toilets as a public convenience, the area of the premises containing the toilets is discounted from the calculation of the premises’ overall rateable value.”
In 2016 a BBC report highlighted that local authorities had closed one in seven public toilets between 2010 and 2013. The report identified 10 areas in England and Wales with no council-run toilets at all.
By 2018, the follow-up report found that the number of areas without any public conveniences had increased to 37. That is a trend likely to accelerate with the pressures on local authorities.
It has led to closures or transfers to perhaps voluntary groups or charities. The good will engendered in that is a welcome thing, but it means that accountability for that essential social infrastructure has been lost. We have to be clear about this. I do not think public toilets are a “nice to have”.
Lack of adequate facilities disproportionately affects all sorts of groups, including people who work outdoors, people with ill health or disability, the elderly and the homeless. Such essential facilities can make the difference between being able to confidently leave the house or not.
Improved Legislation and more funding needed
23 July 2021
The British Toilet Association has called for improved legislation and more government funding to address the current “appalling” lack of public toilet provision.
Public toilets are in “crisis” and rapidly vanishing, the body said, with many of those that remain displaying totally unacceptable levels of cleanliness and hygiene and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made the situation worse.
Many public toilets have been locked down since the start of the pandemic due to a lack of cleaning, funding or any government guidance on how to get them fit for purpose, The British Toilet Association (BTA) said.
The public was being forced to go to the toilet in streets, beaches, open spaces and beauty spots, causing street fouling figures to escalate, aggravating the risk of COVID-19 transmission and leaving the local authorities to foot considerable clean-up costs, it added.
“Anyone suffering with an accessibility issue or those caring for someone who has limited mobility or a medical condition is socially excluded and potentially deemed prisoners in their own homes.”
–Raymond Martin
Managing Director, BTA
No Legal Requirement for Local Authorities to Provide Public Toilets
With no legal requirement in place to force local authorities to provide or run public toilets then, the BTA believes the majority of councils across the UK do not allocate sufficient resources or funds to the provision of public toilets.
It is calling for the government to make sanitation and hygiene a major priority and support local authorities to stop the closures, open new facilities and establish a new set of standards of hygiene and cleanliness.
The BTA has been lobbying for action since the pandemic began, asking questions of Ministers and the PM, writing to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and has taken part in a Zoom meeting with Lord Stephen Greenhalgh, the Minister for Building Safety and Communities and other Members of the House of Lords but without an adequate response.
It is currently preparing to write again to Lord Greenhalgh and also to the new Health Secretary, the Rt Hon Sajid Javid.
The BTA is a not-for-profit organisation that campaigns for the highest possible standards of hygiene and provision in all “away from home” toilet facilities across the UK. It understands that over a third of the population need to visit a toilet on an urgent basis, often at very short notice.
BTA Managing Director Raymond Martin said: “We are appalled at the total lack of funding over many years and extremely concerned at the closures and unprecedented low levels of public toilet facilities before, during and going into the future. This is now a crisis.
“Across our beautiful country, that was once the envy of the world because of its sanitation systems and hygiene controls, those responsible have allowed us to fall so far from the standards our forefathers achieved.
“Then along comes one of the deadliest pathogens for many generations and unbelievably our ministers and their government colleagues cannot see the need or make available any primary funding to tackle and fight this continuing threat to our nation’s daily existence.
“From the very first announcement of the arrival of COVID-19 the government has been repeatedly telling everyone to “wash your hands” but how much money has it allocated, spent or even committed to increasing sanitation and hygiene during a pandemic? The answer is nothing.
“Hand washing materials cost money, hot water costs money, cleaning materials and staff cost have to be factored in, as well as the return to an acceptable level of provision.
“The lack of public toilet provision leaves families with young children, business travellers, drivers delivering our daily essentials across the country, staycationers, day-trippers those on longer holiday breaks, older persons wanting to visit family and many more people wondering when they might find relief.
“COVID is transmitted in human excrement and urine so forcing the public to use our open spaces to go to the toilet can only be a recipe for continued or increased transmission and incubation of this most deadly pathogen and any future variants.”
Accessibility Issues
“Anyone suffering with an accessibility issue or those caring for someone who has limited mobility or a medical condition is socially excluded and potentially deemed prisoners in their own homes.
“Footfall in shops and many high streets continues to remain low as the lack of decent toilet facilities is driving shoppers away to out of town superstores, leaving the villages and town shops with diminishing revenues and the constant threat of closure.
“The BTA has spent the last eighteen months primarily firefighting the lack of publicly accessible toilets across the UK but with very limited success without the support of this government.
“It’s time that this government made sanitation and hygiene a major priority and supported the local authorities to stop the closures of public toilets, restore standards and tackle this pandemic in our public buildings and spaces.”
Picture: a picture of a toilet
Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 23 July 2021
Public Toilets told to reopen but still no help or funding from Westminster
From a story by Dan Bloom Mirror Online Political Editor in June 2020
Local government minister Simon Clarke and environment minister Rebecca Pow wrote to council chiefs today urging them to reopen loos.
Public toilets told to reopen as outdoor wees pose ‘harm to public health’ Ministers have written to council chiefs in England to end the lockdown practice of people ‘relieving themselves in public. People are being urged to spend their hard earned pounds to boost the local economy – but many can’t even spend a penny. The government has demanded public toilets reopen after warning the number of people relieving themselves outdoors poses a “harm to public health”.
Ministers jointly wrote to town halls in England today calling on them to reopen any loos that are still shuttered to stop the spread of Covid-19. Toilets in parks and other public places were closed from March to prevent transmission of the virus. But that has left many people in a tight spot as parks reopen to social groups of up to six people – but many toilets do not.
They said: “Councils should consider the harm to public health and the local environment caused by people relieving themselves in public.” The ministers warned the situation has got worse as the weather heats up. Many sufferers with bowel conditions have told of avoiding trips outdoors altogether due to anxiety about where to find a toilet.
They added:”Public hygiene is of the upmost importance, especially during the CORONAVIRUS pandemic, and enabling residents to access toilets safely is vital. Handwashing is an extremely important activity to help prevent the continued spread of the virus.
“Enabling residents to access toilets safely is vital.
Handwashing is important” Closed toilets may also impact disproportionately on certain groups who for health reasons rely on access to public toilets to be able to leave their homes.They can also make life difficult for young families and people who work outside. If you have toilets that are still shut, then we strongly urge you to refer to advice on measures that can be taken to open toilets in a safe way.”
A spokesman for the Local Government Association (LGA) said:
“Councils have been taking individual local decisions about public toilets they control based on a risk assessment basis, if they can provide adequate cleaning staff and schedules and, of course, whether the governments social distancing measures can be maintained.”
QUESTION: How can a Minister ask an Authority to put its precious time and resources into something that neither he nor his own government see any advantage in supporting or funding. Without PRIMARY legislation and the appropriate budget to encourage proper clean and hygienic publicly accessible toilets then these appear to be, SADLY, just hollow words.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
To All our Members, Partners, Friends and Colleagues we send you our Warmest Wishes for a successful and Peaceful year ahead.
“I truely believe if we all work together we can make 2022 a year of renewed hope. So we look forward to working closely with many organisations and individuals to raise the standards of all away from home toilets across the UK & Ireland”
Raymond Boyd Martin
Managing Director
FELLOW of the Royal Society for Public Health
Personally, along with my colleagues in the BTA we pay tribute to one of this organisations founding members; as we congratulate Sue Cunningham on becoming a Fellow of the RSPH this year. Sue has been an ardent campaigner for woman’s rights and decent public provision for over 20 years and this fellowship must reflect and recognise her continuous fight for the maintaining of exemplorary stanards
“In May 2019, the Royal Society for Public Health published a comprehensive report revealing the dire state of our publicly available conveniences and the consequent impact on community health.
I have always admired the work carried out by the RSPH, and their dedication to the promotion and protection of collective human health and wellbeing.
As an Honorary Member of the BTA, I am delighted to have been elected Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health, which entitles me to benefit from all the sources of information which they make available to their members. I feel sure this will enable me, with renewed vigour, to continue campaigning for improvements in the provision of well-designed, well-maintained, and hygienic public toilets”
Susan Cunningham FRSPH 18th December 2020
Hon Member of the BTA
The winners have been announced for the very first Technology & Marketing Awards, specifically for the cleaning, hygiene and facilities management sectors.
Organised by LaCerta, the awards were free to enter and were a chance for marketing & PR professionals, leaders, CEO’s or anyone working on exciting campaigns to showcase and share their success. A long line-up of high-profile judges from top companies, including Universal Pictures, Samsung, England Rugby and Nespresso helped select the winners after considering factors like overall strategy, communication and creativity
Influencer / Impact Award – Susan Cunningham – for her Public In-Conveniences guide and her exceptional contribution to improving toilet provision in the UK
***DOUBLE CONGRATULATIONS !***
UK guidelines have been updated and adopted into an international standard
In response to the pandemic, BSI worked quickly with a wide range of experts to produce a set of generic safe working recommendations.
These guidelines help organizations adjust the way they work during the pandemic to protect workers and the people they come into contact with.
International interest in what we’d produced has now led to the latest version forming the basis of an international standard. PD ISO/PAS 45005:2020 Occupational health and safety management — General guidelines for safe working during the COVID-19 pandemic supplies practical recommendations to organizations and workers on how to manage the risks.
The standard:
- Provides a single source of internationally agreed good practice and accurate advice based on current knowledge and lessons learned
- Provides practical examples and help with developing a rapid response plan
- Is suitable for organizations resuming operations, those that have been operational throughout the pandemic, and those that are starting operations
If you’re responsible for protecting workers during the pandemic, either as a business owner, manager, worker, or in an advisory capacity, please download a free copy of PD ISO/PAS 45005:2020 now.
For all general enquiries call +44 345 086 9001
or visit the BSI Group website
Our mailing address is:
BSI Standards
389 Chiswick High Road London,
W4 4AL United Kingdom
BTA receives welcome recognition with another major UK Award
The Special 2020 Edition BSI Standards Awards were created to recognize the individuals and organizations that have made great contributions to standards/standards guidance or have used a voluntary standard(s) in new/unprecedented ways specifically to support the UK’s response to the pandemic
NOMINATION:
British Toilet Association – Standards User Award
The pandemic was in danger of causing an unwanted increase in open defecation and urination because of the closure of many public toilets. The BTA developed guidance that contributed to the BSI guide on COVID 19 measures and responded to numerous calls from the media to provide solutions. Local authorities from all over the UK requested guidance on how their public toilets could be adapted to provide safe amenities that would help any residents who could not travel far without such facilities, and any visitors that needed toilets.
The BTA responded to this deluge of requests for help with calmness, consideration and authority, despite being a small organization with few staff. Without the input from the BTA many tourist centres and beauty spots would have been either completely closed or made unhygienic and unattractive by the actions of people who needed to “go” and had no suitable facilities. The BTA’s input to the BSI Flex 45005 Safe working during the COVID-19 pandemic – General guidelines for organizations was timely and helpful. The material will also be used in the upcoming revisions of BS 6465 Sanitary installations: Part 1 Code of practice for the design of sanitary facilities and scales of provision of sanitary and associated appliances and Part 4 Code of practice for the provision of public toilets, and may also contribute to a future ISO standard.
The BTA has consistently provided good input to the development of the BS 6465 suite of standards for over 20 years and has used British Standards to build its award schemes and guides. Its relationships with manufacturers, local authorities, user groups and researchers have helped it to provide well-grounded advice and comments during the development of various British Standards,; including on the provision of access for disabled people.
Standards User Award Winner
for supporting government and local authorities with advice and guidance about standards to ensure public toilets could remain open and safe for all users during the pandemic.
A digital LINK is being created and will be placed here shortly to allow all our members to view the actual Awards cerempny that was held VIRTUALLY this year due to Covid restrictions
LEGIONAIRES DISEASE
Managing legionella in hot and cold water systems
The official APPROVED CODE of PRACTICE from the HSE is ACOP L8 and can be found at:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l8.htm
What is legionella?
Legionella bacteria is commonly found in water. The bacteria multiply where temperatures are between 20-45°C and nutrients are available. The bacteria are dormant below 20°C and do not survive above 60°C.
Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially fatal type of pneumonia, contracted by inhaling airborne water droplets containing viable Legionella bacteria. Such droplets can be created, for example, by: hot and cold water outlets; atomisers; wet air conditioning plant; and whirlpool or hydrotherapy baths.
Anyone can develop Legionnaires’ disease, but the elderly, smokers, alcoholics and those with cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory or kidney disease are at more risk.
HSE’s Legionnaires’ disease page provides information on managing the risks
What you need to do
Health and social care providers should carry out a full risk assessment of their hot and cold water systems and ensure adequate measures are in place to control the risks.
Using temperature control
The primary method used to control the risk from Legionella is water temperature control.
Water services should be operated at temperatures that prevent Legionella growth:
- Hot water storage cylinders (calorifiers) should store water at 60°C or higher
- Hot water should be distributed at 50°C or higher (thermostatic mixer valves need to be fitted as close as possible to outlets, where a scald risk is identified).
- Cold water should be stored and distributed below 20°C.
A competent person should routinely check, inspect and clean the system, in accordance with the risk assessment.
You must identify ‘sentinel’ outlets (furthest and closest to each tank or cylinder) for monthly checking of the distribution temperatures. You should also check the hot water storage cylinder temperatures every month and cold water tank temperatures at least every six months.
Stagnant water favours Legionella growth. To reduce the risk you should remove dead legs/dead ends in pipe-work, flush out infrequently used outlets (including showerheads and taps) at least weekly and clean and de-scale shower heads and hoses at least quarterly. Cold-water storage tanks should be cleaned periodically and water should be drained from hot water cylinders to check for debris or signs of corrosion.
Design systems to minimise Legionella growth, by:
- keeping pipe work as short and direct as possible;
- adequately insulating pipes and tanks;
- using materials that do not encourage the growth of Legionella;
- preventing contamination, eg by fitting tanks with lids and insect screens.
Additional controls
Water samples should be analysed for Legionella periodically to demonstrate that bacteria counts are acceptable. The frequency should be determined by level of risk, in accordance with the risk assessment.
Other control methods
Other methods to control Legionella include copper and silver ionisation and biocide treatments (eg chlorine dioxide). To ensure that they remain effective their application will need suitable assessment as part of the overall water treatment programme including proper installation, maintenance and monitoring.
Further information
- Hot and cold water systems.
- HSE Website – Legionnaires’ disease – provides guidance on managing the risks.
- Legionnaires’ disease. The control of Legionella bacteria in water systems (L8) – sets out both established standards for managing the risks from Legionella and provides guidance on how to comply with the law.
- Health and safety in care homes (HSG220) – provides guidance on how to manage the risks at care homes.
- HPA Website – Legionnaires’ disease – provides information on Legionnaires’ disease and the requirement to report cases in England and Wales to the HPA.
