Reflections on Lifting the Lid

Reflections on lifting the lid

Age UK London has just launched the latest report as part of our London Loos campaign. It’s a bit of a departure for us in terms of the type of report, and I’m excited to see what impact we make with it.

First to the title, ‘Lifting the lid – Looking for a better understanding of public toilet provision and local authorities in London’  (a bit of a mouthful, but we just call it Lifting the Lid). The original idea was ‘Councils caught short,’ or something similar. Looking back, I’m not sure that would have been quite right for the message we wanted to convey. Working on a public toilets related campaign for three years means that (I think at least) I’ve heard most toilet-related puns (it’s quite sad that I have a list of puns on my phone, but I think that’s what train journeys are for(?)). I’m quite pleased with ‘Lifting the lid’ as it speaks to uncovering something and I think that’s what we’ve been able to do with the report.

In lots of ways the report is a follow up to our 2022 report, Public toilets – the views of older Londoners, which was about why public toilet provision is so important for community wellbeing and how a lack of public toilets can impact quality of life for some people. A lack of loos is a public health issue (dehydration being just one example), an issue of inclusion (loos make a place more comfortable, and welcoming – finding any toilet is not easy, but doubly hard for people that need accessible ones because they are just so difficult to find). It’s an issue of rights at work for some people who don’t have access to a toilet when they are doing their job (delivery drivers, taxi drivers and post people), about support for the local economy (people stay longer and spend more money in places they feel comfortable), and much more.

The report outlines findings from a Freedom of Information request sent to all 33 local authorities in London - 30 replied. Before the research we already knew that public toilets are important (they can even reduce social isolation) and that there are far fewer public toilets than there used to be (something outlined in several reports - I give some examples at the end of this blog). What we didn’t know was what the situation actually was in 2024 for London councils when it came to public toilet provision.

There is often a focus on numbers, but public toilet provision is about lots of things from signage and communication to planning and strategic approaches, design, funding, and working with partners. The report goes a good way to better capturing these lesser explored areas.

The report shows that a lot of London public toilets have been closed in the past decade. This isn’t a big surprise as the decline has been going on for decades (although things have accelerated for the worse more recently). However, something that I was shocked by is just how few London local authorities are on top of the situation when it comes to their public toilet provision.

Some readers of the report will notice that we don’t mention boroughs by name, except when wishing to highlight examples of good practice. We’ve made a conscious decision not to ‘name and shame.’ Instead, our preference has been to be more constructive.

This is for three main reasons: Firstly, we recognise the very serious financial challenges that councils face and the many demands on resources; secondly, there are many councils doing good things, from new strategies to new Community Toilet Schemes (the report has some examples); and thirdly, because our preference was to focus on the future and to encourage councils to learn from each other. This is why the recommendations section is lengthy.

My hope is that as many councillors and council staff as possible can read the report and that it helps them to think about the subject in a new or different way. Ideally, after reading the report, I would like them to have a better understanding of improvements that can be made and that these improvements are not just about bricks and mortar, and that there are lower cost initiatives that can make a difference to benefit people of all ages.

Although the situation is serious it is not counsel for despair and more councils in London are taking positive steps. I’m cautiously optimistic and know that Age UK London will continue to campaign hard on this. I’m also excited that we’ve set up the London Loo Alliance, which is a coalition of charities, trade unions, civic societies, resident and community associations, researchers and equality  campaigners joining together to demand more and better public toilets in London. I know the Alliance will make a real difference.

I’m proud of the report, and am grateful to my colleagues Dee and Dom, as well as the excellent (and patient) designer Gavin, for their work on the report.

This blog was written by John McGeachy, Campaigns Manager at Age UK London and author of the Lifting the Lid Report. 

Other good examples of recent research on public toilet provision in London

The Toilet Paper: The London Assembly Health Committee’s three principles for improving public toilet provision in London. London Assembly Health Committee, 2022

The London Loo League Table. Caroline Russell AM

Caught Short in Soho. A public toilet strategy for Soho. Orbitl + Crystal Associates on behalf of the Soho Neighbourhood Forum

Designing London’s Recovery: Your views on improving public toilets in London. The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art, and the Mayor of London (Talk London) 2022

The Final Flush: How We’re All About to Lose Our Public Lavs. Victoria Plumbing 2023

The UK Accessible Public Toilets Report. QS Supplies, 2023