Current Petitions

PE1270, by Linda Burke, on behalf of the Profound and Multiple Impairment Service and the Learning Disability Alliance Scotland, calls on the Parliament to urge the Government to request that local authorities use British standard 8300:2009 to ensure that at least one public toilet built to the changing places standard is provided in the centre of each town that has a population of more than 15,000, and in each new larger and publicly accessible building and complex.We have had the opportunity to discuss the petition in the past, so any comments from members would be helpful.

I propose that we close the petition, but submit the petitioner’s final submission to the Scottish Government for consideration.

Do members accept that recommendation?

Having looked at the petitioner’s request, I was quite surprised that there was no way of making it happen. It is an important issue that we must not take lightly. We perhaps need to reflect on why it cannot happen, and on the issues surrounding that.I know that I have come to the petition only lately, but I wonder whether it is a matter for equality legislation. I am not sure whether the Equality and Human Rights Commission would have any comment on the situation. I do not want to keep pursuing the issue unnecessarily, but I wonder why there is nowhere for it to go.

I will let John Wilson in, but we will come back to that point, as it raises a legitimate issue.

One of the reasons that I proposed that we close the petition is because the petitioner has asked us to close it.

I understand that.

The committee has taken the petition as far as it can. The petitioner’s objective was to raise awareness of the issue, and we have taken that task on board. We have raised the issue with a number of public bodies to try to take the debate forward, but there is a difficulty with regard to what the committee can do and what the petitioner has requested that we do. The petitioner has asked us to close the petition because they feel that, in many respects, awareness of the issue has been raised. The relevant authorities will, we hope, take the issue forward.

I suggest that we discuss the concerns that Rhona Brankin raised, which I think we all share. In closing the petition, we may want to draw it to the attention of the relevant minister with responsibility for planning in relation to any developments. It strikes me that we need to address the concern about clarity in policy guidance and in the implementation of that guidance at a local level, so that we are not left in the ridiculous situation, as Rhona Brankin mentioned, in which something that seems reasonable is not being provided.

It may be a UK Government issue too, in relation to equalities legislation or human rights.

We may want to write to the appropriate minister in Scotland with responsibility for the planning framework, and we can perhaps consider the UK position in relation to the broader disability issues.

This may be slightly controversial, but here goes. In closing the petition, we could write to the First Minister, because I can think of nowhere else to write, to say, “Here’s a good idea. It costs money, but it doesn’t cost a fortune.”The official response has—correctly—been to say, “We cannot tell people what to do”. However, in a country the size of Scotland, there should be a mechanism—although the Government cannot tell local authorities what to do—for influencing people to understand that the idea is sensible and does not cost a fortune, and to ask them, “Hey guys, why aren’t you doing this in your area?”

Okay. We should put the issue in the manifestos of all the parties. We need to pursue information from appropriate ministers. I thank members for their comments.