5. What discussions has the Cabinet Secretary had with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning regarding making funding available to support local authorities in maintaining public toilet facilities? OQ60910

I have had no discussions with the Cabinet Secretary since her appointment about funding for public toilets. Local authorities' 2024-25 average funding increase is 3.3 per cent, and each will need to balance service delivery against available funding. Despite our efforts to give authorities the best settlement possible, they are having to make difficult decisions.

Thank you very much for that response.

We know that communities across Wales are being compelled to step in and assume the responsibility of operating and maintaining our public toilet facilities. Local authorities try their best to provide limited funding, but they are, as you say, severely constrained by ever-tightening budgets. The lack of public toilets and the unavailability of those being open at particular hours mean that this effects not only our own residents, but those visitors as well. I can give you an example. In Rhayader the town council took over the operation of public toilets in 2015, only to have all funding support withdrawn in the subsequent years. And with a population of just 2,000, this small community simply can't continue financing these facilities, which are available on the main roads—the A44 and the A470. So, the reality is that public toilets are essential pieces of infrastructure, which I'm sure we'd all agree, particularly for older people as well. So, I just wondered, Cabinet Secretary, if you could consider outlining what specific support there could be available, and what you could do, along with your Cabinet Secretary colleagues, to assist community groups and local councils in operating and maintaining these essential public facilities. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thank you, and I'd absolutely like to join Jane Dodds in recognising the importance of public toilet availability, particularly for disabled people, for older people, but then also those people who are travelling through our rural areas in Wales as well. And in that context, it's important to recognise that, through our Public Health (Wales) Act 2017, we did require local authorities to undertake an exercise to produce those strategies for public toilets across Wales. Part of that aim, really, was to recognise that public finances are always constrained, sometimes more than others, but to make better use of the kind of public spaces and private spaces that we have available to us, so making sure that public buildings are open and welcoming, that people feel able to come in, engaging with local schemes, perhaps, where those businesses make their toilets available to the public, in the hope, perhaps, it will encourage those people to shop in those places and so on.

So, I think there are creative things that are happening across Wales, but I think the rurality point is really important. I know that we talk a lot about the funding formula here in the Chamber. Now that has moved over to my colleague the Minister for housing and local government, but I still take a keen interest in that, as do colleagues, and I am aware that some of the oldest data within that does relate to indicators that are related to sparsity. So, I just wanted to let colleagues know that officials are currently working with the distribution subgroup and with the ONS to undertake the necessary work to update that information for future settlements. It's really important. Around £460 million of funding in relation to the settlement is distributed on that basis of the sparsity indicator, so it is important, and we have had the recent census, so we're looking at how we can update the formula in that respect. So, that will be really important, moving forward.

Cabinet Secretary, the village of Carew in the heart of south Pembrokeshire attracts over 70,000 visitors a year, many, if not all of whom enjoy one of the finest Norman castles in the UK, Carew castle. However, the village's public toilets have just been saved from closure following a campaign by local residents and the hard-working county councillor, Councillor Vanessa Thomas, and Carew Community Council who have taken over the maintenance of the block from the local authority. The community council has funded this commitment by increasing their local tax precept from £18,000 in the last financial year to £30,000 in the current one, leading to an increased burden on residents. This is not a long-term solution, and at a time when we want to increase and welcome more visitors to our countryside and encourage exercise and well-being, can I ask what actions the Welsh Government is taking to ensure adequate funding is in place for the maintenance of public toilets? Thank you. 

Well, the Member there is almost making the case for a visitor levy, you could argue, in terms of recognising the impact that visitors have on a local area and the way in which we rely on those local residents to pay for that. We do have examples of places in the world where authorities or governments will invest in, for example, public toilets, as a way of ensuring that the places that we have to welcome tourists are comfortable for them when they arrive.