The SNP Government will today be accused of “betraying” disabled Scots by failing to deliver on a pledge to invest £10millon in properly equipped public toilets for all.
Scottish Conservative MSP Jeremy Balfour will use his member’s business debate to highlight ministers’ lack of progress on their 2021 Changing Places commitment to provide public facilities for those with complex and profound disabilities.
He is dismayed by SNP minister Maree Todd’s recent admission that there were no plans to allocate and distribute the funds before 2025.
He contrasted this “inaction and dithering” with the UK Government spending £30m on a similar programme south of the border, which is already improving the lives of disabled people.
The Lothian region MSP describes Changing Places facilities – which typically include a peninsular toilet, hoist, changing bench and lowered basin, among other things – as a “necessity not a luxury” for disabled people.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothian region Jeremy Balfour said: “The SNP’s failure to deliver on this key pledge represents an abject betrayal of Scotland’s disabled population.
“Ministers talk a good game but – unlike the UK Government – they are all talk and no action.
“Changing Places was a commitment in the SNP’s 2021 programme for government, to allow those with profound and complex disabilities to access public spaces and fully participate in society.
“Yet more than two years on and not a single penny of that money has been distributed – despite several projects in my own region of Lothian being ready and waiting for the money.
“The new date of 2025 means we will be waiting four years for funding that is desperately needed.
“We are talking about a relatively small amount of money here in the grand scheme of the Scottish budget. We know the SNP’s economic mismanagement has produced a huge black hole in Scotland’s finances, but those with disabilities should not be made to pay for their incompetence.
“This inaction and dithering must stop. Accessible, properly-equipped toilets are a necessity not a luxury for disabled Scots – and they must be delivered now.”
Notes
The SNP Government pledged £10 million to ensure public toilets are equipped for people with disabilities. The 2021-22 Programme for Government states: ‘we will invest £10 million to increase the number of Changing Places toilets across the country, and support mobile Changing Places toilets to allow disabled people easier access to events and outdoor venues.’ (2021-22 Programme for Government, The Scottish Government, 7 September 2021, link).
Maree Todd admitted that the £10 million fund for changing places toilets will be opened in 2025. Todd said in response to a question from Jeremy Balfour MSP: ‘I confirm that we will look to make the £10 million fund available across the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26. We will undertake the necessary development work, alongside key stakeholders, to open the fund by the beginning of 2025.’ (Official Report, 21 September 2023, link).