A £30 million cash injection will be pledged to develop the network of Changing Places in the Budget later today.
The new Changing Places Fund will see the Government match fund the costs of installing Changing Places toilets in existing buildings. It is unclear as to whether the funding will be UK-wide or just for England.
Changing Places are fully accessible toilet and washing facilities with lots of room, changing benches and sinks (which can also be height adjustable), hoists, and (sometimes) full wet room facilities.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said:
“Where people shop, go out, or travel should not be determined by their disability. Yet, currently the lack of the right facilities can prevent some people from enjoying the day-to-day activities many of us take for granted. I want to change that, which is why my Budget this week is about spreading opportunity, not only across different parts of the country, but also throughout our communities.”
“The Government will set out further details on the Changing Places toilet Fund in due course. We will share more details as soon as we have them. The Consortium will work closely with the Government to identify those sectors where the provision of Changing Places toilets needs to be accelerated.”
The Chancellor is also expected to announce that Changing Places toilets will be compulsory in new public buildings by the end of the year.
Fazilet Hadi, Head of Policy at DR UK said: “These are absolutely critical facilities to enable disabled people to live independent lives. We very much welcome these funds, which should facilitate the building of well over a 1,000 new Changing Places, and the move to ensure that all future public buildings have to have a Changing Places facility as standard. We hope that this is the first step in the government recognising that we need far-reaching changes in the whole of the social and built environments – including housing, the public built environment, and transport.”