Buildings must have single-sex lavatories
NEW office buildings, schools, hospitals and entertainment venues must have separate male and female lavatories, ministers will declare this week, in a move to rein in the “forced sharing” of gender-neutral facilities.
The Sunday Telegraph understands that the Government will formally announce it is acting to prevent nonresidential buildings being built solely with “universal” lavatories. The move will involve changes to building regulations and planning guidance.
The plans, being spearheaded by Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, were quietly approved by ministers last month after Mrs Badenoch was warned that some children were avoiding using lavatories at school because they only had access to gender-neutral facilities. Mrs Badenoch has insisted that it is both legal and “important” to provide single-sex spaces for men and women.
It is likely to be billed by ministers as a “commonsense” approach to help stymie a growing trend of gender-neutral lavatories becoming the default option in new buildings.
The move follows a review opened by Robert Jenrick, who was housing secretary until last year, which sources said had identified concerns held by women about the reduced privacy and longer queues resulting from gender-neutral facilities. Women’s rights groups have warned that women are “disadvantaged” by gender-neutral facilities that contain a mixture of urinals and cubicles, “since they cannot use urinals, whereas men can use the cubicles”.
“Furthermore, many women and girls are unwilling to walk past urinals to get to the cubicles in formerly male facilities”, the Fair Play For Women campaign group said in one submission to the Government.
A government source said: “It is vital that women feel safe and comfortable when using public facilities and that there is a greater emphasis on provision that is focused on dignity, privacy, tolerance and respect for all.”
The guidance will apply to buildings over a certain size and will be set following a technical consultation this autumn.
Sources said that ministers and Downing Street want the changes to apply to all buildings that operate as business premises. Government Property Agency guidance will also be updated to ensure that new or re-developed governmentowned buildings provide single-sex toilets.