8th June 2026

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 our state panic and withdrawl during the previous pandemic has only made the situation worse.

Many public toilets have been locked down since the end of the pandemic due to a lack of funding, proper management, cleaning or any government guidance on how to get them hygienically fit for purpose.

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 transmission and leaving the local authorities to foot considerable clean-up costs, it added.

The effects of the LOO LEASH
“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 support or even force local authorities to provide publicly accessible toilets then, the BTA firmly believes that the majority of councils across the UK can 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 and attending meetings with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. We have spoken directly to the previous Secretary of State for MHCLG Alex Norris MP and has taken part in a series of Zoom meeting with other Members of the House of Commons and the Lords and has been encouraged to find a willing audience who understand the problems and priorities and are currently raising the questions in Parliament and at council levels.

We are in the process of writing again to the Rt Hon. Steve Reed to ask him to meet with the BTA to progress the previous proposals and discussions.

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 make sure that our public toilet providers and cleaning operatives are ready, skilled and prepared to tackle and fight any threat to our nation’s daily existence.

“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 comfort, convenience and relief.

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 many years 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.”