Changing Places Toilets Fund Delivery: FOI release

Information requested

1. Confirmation that some of the £10m Changing Places Toilet fund will be opened to applicants by the beginning of 2025.

2. The current estimated amount of money that will be available at the beginning of 2025 and the current estimated date on which the fund is expected to open.

3. The number of meetings the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport has specifically had on Changing Places Toilets in the calendar year 2024.

4. A breakdown of the Scottish Government’s activity in establishing the Changing Places Toilets Fund by event and date of event.

Response

The answer to your questions are:

• Confirmation that some of the £10m Changing Places Toilet fund will be opened to applicants by the beginning of 2025.

The Minister recently wrote to the Health and Sport Committee setting out the latest position regarding the Changing Places Toilet Fund. You can view this letter on Scottish Parliament website.

The letter explains the challenging financial situation faced by the Scottish Government following the UK Chancellor's July statement, and that we are no longer able to launch the fund in the current financial year. For clarity, the current financial year 2024-2025 runs until 5th April 2025.

• The current estimated amount of money that will be available at the beginning of 2025 and the current estimated date on which the fund is expected to open.

Funding for financial year 2025-26 will be determined in the Scottish Budget to be introduced to Parliament in December and subject to passage of the Budget Bill. The Scottish Government is working towards a launch date for the Changing Places Toilets fund and we will provide an update in due course.

• The number of meetings the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport has specifically had on Changing Places Toilets in the calendar year 2024.

The Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport has held one meeting specifically focused on Changing Places Toilets thus far in 2024 when attending the Changing Places Toilet Cross Party Group.
It has also been part of ongoing routine policy discussions with officials on a range of topics relevant to the work of the Mental Health Directorate.

• A breakdown of the Scottish Government’s activity in establishing the Changing Places Toilets Fund by event and date of event.

It might be helpful to highlight two published FOI responses that were made in January 2024 which are available on the Scottish Government website under reference FOI/202400395185 and FOI/202400400414. Some of the information you have requested is available from:

Meetings and correspondence regarding Changing Places Toilets Investment: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Programme for Government investment into new changing places toilets: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

The following meetings are noted in officials calendars as occurring after 1st January 2024 and are provided in addition to that which has already been disclosed in previous FOIs.

Date and Time of event	Attendee’s
Monday 19th February 2024 – 11:00	Scottish Government official x4
Wednesday 10th January 2024 – 18:00	Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport  Membership of Changing Places Toilets Cross Party Group
Tuesday 10th September 2024 – 15:45	Jenny Miller – PAMIS  Scottish Government official
Thursday 12th September 2024 – 10:30	Scottish Government official x3

In these FOIs we explained that whilst our aim is to provide information whenever possible, much of this activity is informal and the Changing Places Toilets Fund is discussed alongside other ongoing business. Therefore the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested.

The Changing Places Toilets programme forms part of the ongoing work of the Autism and Learning Disabilities Unit within Scottish Government, and discussions on the Changing Places Toilet Fund took place as part of routine and unrecorded team and unit discussions, alongside a range of other policy topics.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.