Changing Places Awareness Day 2018- it's time to make the world a more incLOOsive place

Today is Changing Places Awareness Day 2018! It is a day dedicated to making a noise about what Changing Places toilets are and why they are so important.

Looking back...

To mark the day we have produced a short report that summarises some of the key campaigning activity of the last 12 months. Sadly we couldn't mention absolutely everyone by name but know that we are extremely grateful for the work that each and every campaigner does to raise awareness of Changing Places toilets and get these vital facilities installed- thank you.

Shocking lack of provision

We also took a look at the data we have around registered Changing Places toilets to find out where the gaps in provision are. Some of the this we discovered show how far we still have to go before Changing Places toilets become common place. For example:

Cities and large towns including Salford, Luton, Stockton-on-Tees, Gloucester and Sale have no registered Changing Places toilets.
Out of more than 2,500 train stations in the UK, just 12 have a registered Changing Places toilet – less than 0.5%
Only 17 pubs, restaurants or cafés across the whole UK have registered Changing Places toilets
Less than 20% of motorway service stations provide Changing Places toilets.
Just 50 hospitals in the UK have a Changing Places toilet.

What happens now?

We believe every disabled person should be able to access a toilet that meets their needs.That's why we will continue to fight until we see a minimum of one Changing Places toilet in every town in the UK. To help make this a reality, we are continuing to lobby for changes in existing legislation so that Changing Places toilets become a mandatory requirement in all large new builds. This ties in with the recent Ten Minute Rule Bill presented in Parliament last month by Paula Sherriff MP, calling for certain buildings to provide these facilities.

What can you do?

Share the content from the Consortium Twitter account and help us make a noise about the need for Changing Places toilets.
Send a letter to your local newspaper editor highlighting the importance of Changing Places toilets (you can get local data here).
Tweet your MP asking them to support Paula Sherriff's Ten Minute Rule Bill at it's second reading later this year.
Snap a CPselfie! Take a photo of yourself in or near a Changing Places toilet or holding a sign about Changing Places. If you want to go further, why not print off Alison's amazing CPselfie kit or this special #CPAD version? You can challenge friends, family or venues to do one too (make sure you share them with us too).
Add a Changing Places Twibbon to your Twitter or Facebook profile picture.