Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham, has been fighting to get the toilet tax scrapped.
Public loos are a local asset, particularly in rural areas and small towns and villages. They are important to the local community and people want access to a public loo when they are out. Recent research by the Royal Society for Public Health has shown that people don’t leave the house as much as they would like if they are concerned about not being able to access a public loo – in particular, being unable to access a public loo has an enormously detrimental effect on those that are elderly or vulnerable. Studies have also shown that a large proportion of the population will deliberately restrict fluid intake due to not having access to public toilets.
Currently, public toilets cost local authorities around £8 million every year in business rates, and Town and Parish councils also have to pay to keep them running. As a result of this, many public loos have been closed. The business rates are an enormous drain on resources in places like Wolsingham, where the annual local budget is £60,000. In 2018, the former Chancellor pledged to bring in business rates relief for public loos but this ended up not being put into legislation.
Richard is now campaigning for the new Chancellor to renew the Government’s commitment to provide rates relief for public loos. As Co-Chair of the Across-Party Parliamentary Group for Local Democracy, Richard has raised the issue with the APPG and with the Treasury.
Commenting, Richard said ‘Scrapping business rates for public loos would have a massively beneficial impact on local communities. It would free up thousands of pounds that could be put into the area and would help to save public toilets. Saving public toilets is really important for those that need to access them when they are out and about, and it is really concerning that people are getting into a situation of feeling they cannot leave their homes due to a lack of public loos. It would also be a boost to tourism and our high streets. The toilet tax brings in just £8 million a year, so scrapping it would be a small cost for the Chancellor.'
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