The Telegraph understands the government will formally announce it is acting to prevent non-residential buildings from being built exclusively with “universal” toilets. The move will include changes to building regulations and planning guidelines. The plans, led by Kemi Badenoch, the equality minister, were quietly approved by ministers last month after Ms Badenoch warned that some children were avoiding using toilets at school because they only had access to gender-neutral facilities. Ms Badenoch has insisted it is both legal and “important” to provide single-sex spaces. It is likely to be billed by ministers as a “common sense” approach to help stem a growing trend of gender-neutral toilets becoming the default option in new buildings. The move follows a review launched by Robert Jenrick, who was the Housing Secretary until last year, which sources said had identified women’s concerns about reduced privacy and longer queues resulting from gender-neutral facilities .
“Dignity and Privacy”
Women’s rights groups have warned that women are “disadvantaged” by gender-neutral facilities containing a mix of urinals and cubicles, “as they cannot use urinals while men can use the cubicles”. “Furthermore, many women and girls are reluctant to walk past urinals to get to cubicles in former men’s facilities,” campaign group Fair Play for Women said in a 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 greater emphasis on provision that focuses on dignity, privacy, tolerance and respect for all. “These changes will stop the trend of ‘universal’ and forced sharing of spaces – with an emphasis on ensuring privacy for all. This is a common sense approach that includes everyone.” The guidance will apply to buildings of a certain size, which will be determined after a technical consultation in the autumn. Sources said ministers and Downing Street want the changes to apply to all buildings that function as business premises. State Property Agency guidelines will also be updated to ensure that new or renovated state-owned buildings provide single-sex toilets.
Women’s safety
In 2019, the Old Vic Theater in central London became the latest venue to come under fire when it converted all men’s and women’s toilets into gender-neutral toilets as part of a refurbishment. The theater has doubled the number of toilets in the building and said it will mark the new rooms with images of a stall or urinal, “allowing people to make their own decision about which toilet is right for them”. Last year, responding to claims that the proposed changes were “transphobic”, Mr Jenrick told The Telegraph: “This was a simple matter of trying to protect the safety and privacy of women. Many women… would prefer that there should be separate ladies’ and gentlemen’s rooms in public buildings.’ He added that requiring single-sex toilets would mean that “women using these facilities will have the confidence and security to know that if they want to, they can go to their own toilets and they won’t find other people in them. I think this is the right thing to do.”
