New shopping centres, stadiums and theme parks are among buildings that could be required to provide Changing Places toilets for severely disabled people, under proposals to be put forward by the government.

Ministers will launch a consultation next year on proposals that the essential facilities are included in all new large publicly-accessible buildings and significant redevelopments. Currently, building regulations guidance only recommends Changing Places toilets are provided.

Alongside this, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced £2 million to install over 100 Changing Places toilets in NHS hospitals throughout England. There are currently only around 30 to 40 Changing Places on the NHS England estate, and this investment will enable Trusts to increase accessibility.

People with disabilities and their carers say Changing Places in public can be life changing and allow them to go out in the public without fear or stress. Changing Places toilets are larger than standard disabled toilets and have extra equipment like adult-sized changing benches and hoists.

Local Government Minister Rishi Sunak MP said:

Changing Places toilets make a huge difference to the lives of severely disabled people. I want to see these facilities included as standard in new large buildings like shopping centres and cinemas, so more disabled people can be assured peace of mind and dignity when they are away from home.

The government will consult in the New Year on how best to do this, including changing building regulations if required, if it means more disabled people can get access the essential services they deserve.

Minister for Care Caroline Dinenage, added:

It is utterly shocking how few Changing Places toilets there are currently in NHS hospitals and other public spaces. People with disabilities and their carers rightly expect to find suitable facilities in a hospital of all places.

A quarter of a million disabled people need Changing Places and this investment will mean many more of them can access a toilet safely and comfortably. Whilst this is something most of us take for granted, access to spaces like these make a big difference to the lives of disabled people and their carers.

In the absence of Changing Places facilities, disabled people and/or carers face:

• limiting what they drink to avoid needing the toilet when they are out – risking dehydration and urinary tract infections;
• sitting in soiled clothing or dirty nappies until a suitable toilet is found or they return home;
• having to change a loved one on a dirty toilet floor;
• manually lifting someone out of their wheelchair – risking safety
• reducing their time out of the house – restricting their social lives

While the number of the facilities has increased from 140 in 2007 to more than 1,200 today, the government is determined to go even further to improve disabled people’s quality of life.

Today’s announcements follow a recent £2 million investment by the Department for Transport to increase Changing Places facilities in motorway service stations.

The government, with contributions from the devolved administrations, has also provided £70,000 for an online map of the UK that helps carers and disabled people find Changing Places toilets.

Catherine Woodhead, Chief Executive of Muscular Dystrophy UK, which co-chairs the Changing Places Consortium, said:

We are delighted that the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are committed to making Changing Places toilets more widely available.

Having access to Changing Places toilets increases independence and improves quality of life, and by investing in facilities we can tackle the exclusion many disabled people face on a daily basis.

We, along with our wonderful campaigners, have long pushed for changes to legislation to make Changing Places toilets mandatory in new large public buildings and it’s fantastic that we are now one step closer to that reality.

We are also greatly encouraged by the investment being made in hospitals and motorway services. It is essential that fully accessible toilets are available here; without them, disabled people may struggle to attend important appointments or visit family and friends.

We look forward to working with the government and our campaigners to ensure that Changing Places toilets are available to everyone who needs them.

The government intends to consult during 2019.

Case studies

Lorna Fillingham, Scunthorpe

8 years ago I gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Emily-May. She changed our world forever. We attended baby groups, and it was at these that I first began to notice that she wasn’t meeting her milestones. She wasn’t able to sit (she finally achieved this milestone at the age of 3). She also didn’t babble or explore her environment as the other children did. We were finally told by a paediatrician that Emily-May had developmental delays and that it was likely she might have physical and learning disabilities. What we weren’t told was that my daughters world might start to physically shrink, not because of her physical disabilities but because of the lack of toilet facilities that are available for disabled people like my daughter.

Emily-May is unable to tell me when she needs to use the loo, her learning disabilities mean that she may never become toilet trained, and she is physically unable to transfer herself safely out of a wheelchair. I still, when out and about, have to physically lift her out of her wheelchair and change her on a baby change facility, I am only able to do this because she is small for her age, it feels like we are playing Russian Roulette every time we do this. This will not be an option forever as she grows.

3 years ago, I began campaigning for Changing Places toilets to be made compulsory in larger public buildings, as part of building and planning regulations. Changing Places toilet facilities have an adult changing bench and hoist as well as a toilet, they have enough space for 2 carers, and for bigger wheelchairs.

A lack of Changing Places toilet facilities in the community limits disabled people’s lives. It limits their social, cultural, health and educational options, for who would choose to go to places where the correct toilet facilities are not provided.

As part of my campaign I started to contact hospital trusts, pointing out that the lack of Changing Places toilets was having a detrimental effect on disabled people attending outpatients appointments and visiting family and friends. My former career as a nurse, meant that I knew the techniques that I was using to lift Emily-May put us both at the risk of harm, but also that leaving her sat in one place for a prolonged period of time in a wet or soiled nappy would put her at the risk of pressure sores.

While a handful of Trusts agreed to provide Changing Places toilet facilities, the cost of providing these was cited as an issue from many respondents.

I am therefore very pleased by the governments announcement today that investment will be made on providing Changing Places toilet facilities in hospitals. It means that more disabled people will be able to be toileted in a safe, dignified, timely and humane manner whilst attending outpatients appointments or whilst visiting the wards. I also welcome the Governments consultation into Changing Places provision, and I live in the hope that my daughter’s world will expand again as the toilet facilities she needs will one day be provided in more of the places we go.

Anne Wafula Strike, Harlow

Anne Wafula Strike MBE is a Harlow-based British Paralympic wheelchair racer and campaigner for accessible travel for people with disabilities. Born in Mihuu, Kenya, she contracted polio at the age of two, resulting in lower body paralysis. Arriving in the UK in April 2000, she was introduced to wheelchair racing in 2002 and in 2004 became the first Kenyan wheelchair racer to represent her country, competing in the T53 400m finals at the Paralympics in Athens. Following a successful application for British citizenship in 2006, she became a member of Team GB and now competes as a British athlete.

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to disability sport and charity. In January 2017, while on a CrossCountry train, she was forced to wet herself on a rail journey because the accessible toilet was not working. In the aftermath, she criticised CrossCountry for failing to provide a working disabled accessible toilet on the train.

As a campaigner for disability access and inclusion, I have to come to know that disability is not the problem. When accessibility fails then that’s the problem. I welcome this news as it’s a demonstration of the Government providing reasonable adjustments in health facilities. This will surely empower the severely disabled people, their families and their carers to change and be changed in a safe environment and with dignity. I support all Changing Places campaigners who endure humiliation of changing their loved ones on dirty floors and putting them at risk by lifting them on and off the floor. The Governments’ idea of a consultation on provision of changing places in public buildings is a big step in the right direction to ensuring access and inclusion of disabled people is on the agenda of building planning.

Further information

The cost to install a changing places facility in a hospital is usually between £27,000 and £35,000.

Trusts will be invited to bid for the funding, with bidding opening in 2019. The £2 million funding will be allocated on the principles of matched funding, with Trusts contributing to the cost.

The government has announced its intention to launch a consultation on increasing Changing Places toilets provision, which will seek views on the types and threshold of buildings covered (such as cinemas, shopping centres, sports and music venues and transport hubs). This includes the specifications and cost of the toilets to be installed.

The proposal to change building regulations would apply to England only.

Changing Places are specifically designed to accommodate adults whose needs are not met by standard accessible toilets. These facilities are large accessible spaces with adult-length padded and height adjustable changing tables, hoists, peninsular WCs (further removed from the wall and with space at the sides) and showers.

The government will be engaging with the sector during the consultation. It is a statutory requirement to consult on changes to building regulations.

To all our servicemen and women around the world, I want to wish you and your families the very best this Christmas.

Many of you will spend this season miles apart from your loved ones, and as you forgo the comforts of home, it is particularly important that we remember your commitment, and say thank you.

And this year, as we looked back to the sacrifices made by generations in the past, you continued to demonstrate why you are the finest in the world.

From playing a vital role in cleaning up after a sickening nerve agent attack on the streets of Salisbury, protecting our waters and our skies from Russian intrusion and strengthening our allies in Eastern Europe, striking at terrorism as part of the Global Coalition against Daesh, and along with our US and French allies – sending a message to the Assad regime that we will not stand by while chemical weapons are used, as they were in April on families, including young children.

Time and again, you have stood up to aggression and those who flout the rules based international order. You should be incredibly proud of all that you do – just as the whole country is proud of you.

This year we also marked significant milestones. At memorial sites in the UK and around Europe, we honoured our fallen and paid tribute to their memory as we commemorated a centenary since the end of the First World War.

We celebrated 100 years of the RAF – including a magnificent flypast over Buckingham Palace. And looking to the future, our F-35 Lightning stealth fighter jets landed on the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time.

Now as we approach the New Year, there will be new challenges ahead. But I know you will continue to meet them in the same way that you have always done.

With courage, determination, resilience, ingenuity.

Qualities that are as vital now as they have ever been.

So on behalf of the whole country – let me say thank you to you, and to your families whose love and support is so important.

And let me wish all of you a peaceful Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

The delivery comes from a total contract of £55 million for 56 robots. The Harris Corporation’s T7 unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) are equipped with high-definition cameras, lightning-fast datalinks, an adjustable manipulation arm, and tough all-terrain treads, allowing them to neutralise a wide range of explosive threats.

The game-changing platform endured a variety of tests during an eight-week ‘acceptance’ trials period at UK and US sites specifically chosen to put the robots through their paces.

The robots were pushed to their limits by trials including multi-terrain driving, a series of battlefield missions, weightlifting and dexterity tasks, climatic and vibration testing, high stress capabilities, live-firings, maximum traversing angles and interoperability assessments.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

These robots will go on to be an essential piece of kit, preventing harm to innocent civilians and the brave operators who make explosives safe.

The robots will provide the Army with the latest bomb-disposal technology and will prove to be trusted companions both on UK streets and in deadly conflict zones.

Col Zac Scott, Head of the Defence EOD & Search Branch said:

Remote Control Vehicles (RCVs) are critical to the safe conduct of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) tasks.

The Harris T7 harnesses cutting-edge technology to provide EOD operators with unprecedented levels of mobility and dexterity. It represents a step-change in capability for our service personnel and it will save lives.

The bomb disposal robots have been procured by Defence Equipment and Support, the MOD’s procurement organisation, under Project Starter. The deal was announced in September 2017 at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) Exhibition in London.

Project Starter will procure 56 Harris T7s to support Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams. The programme is designed to replace the Army’s fleet of Wheelbarrow Mk8B remote-controlled EOD robots which have been used across the globe by UK Armed Forces since 1972.

Lt Col Thornton Daryl Hirst, Section Head of Remote Controlled Vehicles within DE&S’ Special Projects Search and Countermeasures team, said:

The first four production standard vehicles have been delivered early to the British Army enabling us to conduct train-the-trainer packages from January onwards.

The hard work and dedication of my team has helped ensure that this critical project has run to time and cost and the trials exceeded our performance expectations.

The Harris T7s robots use ‘advanced haptic feedback’ to allow operators to ‘feel’ their way through the intricate process of disarming from a safe distance, protecting UK soldiers from threats such as roadside bombs.

The haptic feedback function is designed to provide operators with human-like dexterity while they operate the robot’s arm using the remote-control handgrip. The unit gives the operator physical feedback, allowing intuitive detailed control.

All 56 robots are due to be delivered to the UK and in service by December 2020.

£12million boost to support adoptive families bringing total investment to almost £150million since it was first introduced

Thousands more adoptive families and special guardians are set to benefit from additional support after special fund was increased by £12million – taking the total investment to £149million since 2015.

Over 35,000 families have already benefitted from the Adoption Support Fund, which has provided things like cognitive therapy, play and music therapy, and family support sessions. This much needed therapeutic support can help children come to terms with their difficulties – giving them the confidence to build strong relationships with their new family.

This latest additional funding means that the Adoption Support Fund has grown every year since its introduction in 2015 – with the £40million available for next year double the original investment of £18million, underlining the Government’s determination to support adoptive families as they settle in to their new lives.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said:

Spending quality time with family is one of the most important parts of Christmas, and adoptive parents, along with foster carers and kinship carers, provide loving, stable homes for so many vulnerable children and young people.

Thousands of families have had their lives transformed by adoption, but there are still too many children waiting to be adopted. I want those thinking about adoption and existing adoptive parents to know there is specialist support in place to help families as they adjust to their new lives together.

We have seen how life-changing the fund can be and this extra funding will continue to support thousands of children who have experienced trauma and adoptive families as they settle in to their new homes.

Sue Armstrong-Brown Chief Executive of Adoption UK said:

This is fantastic news for adoptive parents across England. I’m pleased that the government heard our recent message, delivered directly to the Children’s Minister by adoptive parents, that more support was needed. Adopters told the minister that many had received life-changing therapeutic support through the Adoption Support Fund.

This support makes all the difference to families parenting some of the country’s most vulnerable children – in many cases it has been the one thing that held the family together and prevented the child returning to care. It’s vital that this support is safeguarded into the future, and I’m delighted that an additional £12million has been allocated to support adoptive families.

Andrew Christie, Chair of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board said:

I am delighted that an additional £12million has been put into the Adoption Support Fund. This will enable thousands more families to get access to the support they need to ensure that their children thrive. Adopters and special guardians have told me that access to therapeutic support helps them understand the impact that trauma, abuse and neglect has had on their children and how they can provide them with the support they need. It is making a huge difference to the lives of thousands of families.

Adoption plays a crucial role in providing support for some of our most vulnerable children, alongside Special Guardianship, foster care and residential care. The new National Stability Forum for Children’s Social Care, which held its second meeting in December, brings together system leaders to focus on looked after children’s outcomes and sense of belonging, regardless of type of setting or legal order.

This was a key commitment made in the Government’s publication Fostering Better Outcomes earlier in the year, which set out our aspirations for a high quality fostering system. In January, we will be supporting Fostering Network’s revised Foster Carer Charter, with an ambition for a Charter to be in place in every fostering service across the UK. The agreement between fostering services and their foster carers will provide children with the best possible care and is an important step towards foster carers receiving the support and respect they deserve.