British Toilet Association : Director's Review

2009 Director's Report -AGM 16TH September 2009

1. Introduction
   1. This is the British Toilet Association’s (BTA’s) tenth AGM and the first complete financial year that I have been Director.
   2. Since the last AGM the focus has been on maintaining and expanding the membership and sponsorship base, progressing the political campaign, providing an effective information and support service on all publicly accessible toilet issues and providing value to members.
2. Membership
   1. There has been a net increase of 5 members since the last AGM to a total of 161.
   2. Local Authorities remain the largest membership sector although at 64 this still only represent 13% of the UK’s Local Authorities. New Local Authority Members include:
      Bournemouth
      Cardiff
      City of London
      East Preston
      Lindfield
      Rochford
      Winchester

Wolverhampton and Northampton ceased their membership for financial reasons.

3. Commercial Company membership has shown a net reduction of 5 also due to financial reasons. New members include Airdri (also a new Corporate Champion), Manchester Panel Products and Total Hygiene. It was with regret that Armitage Shanks and Premier Hygiene ceased to be Corporate Champion members for financial reasons and Technical Concepts following a change in ownership.
4. New Charities and associated organisations included the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance
5. Every opportunity has been taken to retain and increase membership. Six of the new Local Authority members were introduced to membership following advice being sought from and provided by BTA.
3. Sponsorship
   1. We are very appreciative of Corporate Champions – Albany Washroom Services, Danfo, Healthmatic, Initial Washroom Solutions, and Interpublic Urban Systems continued loyal support.
   2. We also welcome Airdri Ltd who became a Corporate Champion on 1st April, in addition to Airdri’s Headline Sponsorship of Loo of the Year Awards.
   3. There has been ongoing communication between BTA and all of the Corporate Champions and I have been working with them in different ways to maximise the benefit they can gain from their financial and personal support to BTA. The increasingly high profile established by BTA provides continuous brand association and other marketing benefits in a more cost effective way than any form of advertising.
4. Political Campaign
   1. In The Provision of Public Toilets – a report published on 22nd October 2008 – the DCLG Select Committee called for all Local Authorities to reverse a decline in the number of public toilets, estimated at 40% in the past 8 years.
      The Committee recommended that Local Authorities develop a public toilet strategy for their area, in consultation with the local community, to ensure that more toilets are available to the public. Although many of the BTA’s Local Authority members provide clean, hygienic and safe toilets many have failed to provide adequate facilities and have closed public toilets leaving the public with ‘nowhere to go’.
   2. The Government Response to the DCLG Committee Report on the Provision of Public Toilets was published on 12th January 2009. The Government accepted that ‘the report reinforces the importance of good quality public toilet provision for all members of society, and recognises the work already undertaken by many local authorities to improve the situation in their areas.’ Regrettably however, the Government failed to accept the recommendation of the Committee.
   3. Committee Chairman Dr Phyllis Starkey MP said: ‘It is extremely disappointing that the Government has rejected our major recommendation that local authorities develop a public toilet strategy for their area, in consultation with the local community, to ensure that more toilets are available to the public. The Committee will be considering the Government's response in detail in due course and will decide what further action it wishes to take’.
   4. The lack of Government support means that not only does it fall short of the BTA’s demands for the Government to place an obligation on Local Authorities to provide adequate public toilet facilities (the Public Health Act 1936 gives Local Authorities the power to provide public toilets, but imposes no duty to do so) but this report also fails to ensure that  all who need to use public toilets in England - males and females, families with babies and young children and those with physical or mental disabilities that need accessible toilets, will be provided with the facilities that they require, and deserve.
   5. Despite the fact that the overall number of public toilets has declined in recent years, and the lack of reliable data makes it impossible to track the decline, the Government has also failed to accept the Committee’s recommendation that ‘the Government seeks a means of collecting this data, either through requiring local authorities to provide figures from their own areas or by charging the Audit Commission with resuming its collection of accurate information on the provision of public toilets.
   6. The Government also failed to accept the Committee’s recommendation ‘that there should be standard public toilet signage across the country (using symbols rather than text to allow for universal recognition, irrespective of language).’
   7. The BTA urges all Local Authorities to produce a strategy on the provision of public toilets in their areas so that the British public, and the increasing numbers of visitors to this country, can enjoy the availability of public toilets when and where they are needed. BTA can provide assistance to those councils that may need it.
   8. BTA is launching its new ‘Where can I go? campaign to ensure that the basic needs of the British public, and its millions of visitors, are recognised and accepted and all types of toilet users have ‘somewhere clean, hygienic and safe to go when they need to’.
5. Activities and Meetings
   1. Activities:
   • Welsh Assembly – assisted Community Toilet Scheme Launch
   • BICS – attended Awards Dinner
   • Local Government Information Unit Seminar – attended Good Practice - Toilets Seminar  
   • World Toilet Summit Macau - Presented a paper on the 3Ps partnership – Public Provision, Private Provision and Public Use
   • BTA / LOYA - stand at Cleaning Show NEC
   • BTA / LOYA - stand at ENCAMS Cleaner Greener Safer Conference Brighton
   • BTA New Campaign Workshop – hosted at Portcullis House Westminster
   • Produced BTA Quality Manual
   • Bromsgrove Borough Council – attended new toilet opening ceremony
   • Westminster Healthcare Forum – attended Seminar on Hospital Acquired Infections
   • Changing Places Campaign – attended Parliamentary Reception Portcullis House Westminster
   • Changing Places – made presentation at Learning Disability Week Event Lisburn
   • Open Britain Launch – attended as guest of Tourism for All
   • Dry Toilet Conference Tampere Finland – attended as representative of BTA
   2. Meetings to progress actions and develop relationships.
      
   • Visit Wales - partnership meeting
   • Armitage Shanks - sponsor meeting
   • Bournemouth Borough Council - Scrutiny Meeting
   • Bromsgrove Borough Council – new toilet design meeting
   • Cardiff City Council - Scrutiny Meeting
   • Dartford Council - meeting with Council Leader
   • Edinburgh Council - state of toilets meeting
   • Danfo/Blackpool Toilets - site meeting
   • Bog Standard Campaign - quarterly Meetings
   • GLA - London Toilet Map Meeting
   • London Underground - Toilet Action Group Meeting
   • BSI Meetings – BS6465 Public Toilets standard updating
   • BCC – Council quarterly Meetings
   • Partners for England – quarterly forums
   • Dutch Toilet Organisation – DTO set up meeting
   • GLA - 2012 Olympics and Para Olympics meeting
6. Promotion and Publicity
   1. BTA continues to receive an excellent media profile and TV, Radio and the press routinely contact BTA for comment and to provide general information on all toilet related matters. 
   2. BTA completed over 50 Radio and TV interviews since the last AGM and contributed to hundreds newspaper and magazine articles.
7. Consultancy
   1. BTA has provided presented advice to Scrutiny Meetings or completed full consultations for eight Councils in the past year. These have been to provide independent advice and reports, with conclusions and recommendations for improvements in public toilet provision. The authorities were:

      Bath & South East Somerset Council
      Bournemouth Borough Council
      Cardiff City Council
      City of London
      East Preston Parish Council
      Lincolnshire County Council
      Maidstone Borough Council
      Winchester City Council       
      

   2. BTA are also completed a major consultancy for London Underground relating to LU Station public toilets, including the assessment of 98 stations facilities, and provided consultation service advice to Priory School Lewes. BTA also provided advice to Bromsgrove Borough Council with the design of refurbished toilets to include a Changing Places, nursing room, baby changing and full accessible facilities.
   3. BTA have a wealth of experience and expertise and the ability to respond to toilet providers various requirements for assistance on a professional and economic basis compared with other consultancy providers.
   4. The BTA can offer specific or general consultancy advice to LAs considering a Partnership (Community) Toilet Scheme. This can include research, planning, communication; PR, implementation and post roll out service level monitoring.
8. The future
   1. The BTA ‘Where can I go?’ campaign will create a new impetus for ‘bottom up’ action from those who need more and better equipped publicly accessible toilets.
   2. We will continue to work in cooperation with other associations that are involved with, or can influence, toilet provision, e.g. Anxiety UK, Changing Places, Help the Aged, The Bog Standard Campaign, The Bowel and Bladder Foundation, The National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease, The Gut Trust and BSI.
9. General
   1. In order to save paper, and be environmentally friendly, these notes will only be available on request via email (enquiries@britloos.co.uk) or via the BTA website www.britloos.co.uk.

Mike Bone
Director
BTA

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