School Sanitary Facilities

The request was successful.

Dear Angus Council,

Please provide a list of the schools within the local authority area that have mixed sex 'gender neutral' toilets?

For each of these schools can you please provide the following details.

In accordance with the requirements outlined within the School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967 and the Building Regulations Technical handbook for the provision of sanitary facilities in schools -

a/ what has the authority's Building Standards and Public Safety Department calculated as the number of sanitary provisions required for the school, please include a numbered breakdown of WC's, Urinals and Wash Hand Basins separately, for girls and boys.

b/ how many separate single sex sanitary facilities have been provided for girls?

c/ how many separate single sex sanitary facilities have been provided for boys? 

d/ how many accessible toilets are provided? 

e/ how many mixed sex 'gender neutral' facilities are provided?

The Technical Handbook describes Unisex toilets as -

"Unisex sanitary accommodation may be provided where each sanitary facility, or a WC and wash hand basin, is located within a separate space, for use by only one person at a time, with a door that can be secured from within for privacy. "



f/ Please provide the number of mixed sex 'gender neutral' toilets that comply with the standards required for Unisex sanitary facilities i.e. Separate WC and wash hand basin for use by one person at a time.

g/ Please provide copies of any documents that detail the consultation process with parents and children, and any analysis of their responses before mixed sex 'gender neutral' toilets were introduced.

h/ Please provide a copy of the Equality Impact assessment completed regarding this change.

i/ Please provide the date the mixed sex 'gender neutral' toilets were introduced.

j/ Please provide the number of complaints received at the school or Council about the mixed sex 'gender neutral' toilets.

Yours faithfully,

J Stewart

InformationGovernance, Angus Council

Dear J Stewart

Thank you for your information request dated 26 November 2018 (received by Angus Council on that same day).

If we are unable to provide you with a response within 20 working days, we will advise you of this in writing.

Please refer to the information below which explains your right to complain if you are unhappy with how the Council is dealing with your request.

If you have any queries, please ask for me on 01307 476261 or email [Angus Council request email]

Yours sincerely
Cath Bowman

Cath Bowman | Admin Assistant (Info Gov)| Place |Legal and Democratic| Angus Council | Angus House | Orchardbank |Forfar| DD8 1AN |Tel 01307 476261 | [email address] | [email address]

Could we have used Skype instead

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2004
INSPIRE (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2009

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If you are dissatisfied with the way in which Angus Council has dealt with your request for information under any of the above statutory instruments, you have a right to ask the council to review its actions and/or decisions regarding your request. If you wish to do this, you should make your request to the Service Leader – Legal & Democratic, Place Directorate, Angus Council, Angus House, Orchardbank Business Park, Forfar DD8 1AN or e-mail [Angus Council request email] within 40 working days.

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be in writing (or recordable format);
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1 Attachment

Dear Sir/Madam

 

I attach for your attention the Council’s response to your recent Freedom
of Information request.

 

Regards

Jacqueline Dawson

 

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Dear DawsonJ,

Thank you for your very detailed response. Unfortunately after extensive searches on the link you provided to the Council’s website Building Standards Public Access I have been unable to locate drawing plans which would reveal the layouts of the pupil toilets. Would you be able to provide direct links to the plans or provide further assistance regarding the search facility.

I would be grateful if you could confirm my understanding of your responses, using Brechin Community Campus as an example and looking at the pupil Sanitary Facilities available for girls you stated in response to question
(a) there should be 38 WC's and 29 Basins. You provided a further breakdown in response to question
(b) 14 Total -3 In the swimming changing
- In the staff swimming changing
-2 In the staff room
-5 Beside the Theatre
-3 in the dry change area

(Does the '14 total' figure equate to 14 WC and 14 Basins?
Also, please confirm that the pupils are permitted free access to these Sanitary facilities during the course of a normal school day, or if any of them are limited to staff use only. )

The Technical Handbook describes Accessible toilets as
"Accessible toilets should be provided within the overall number of sanitary facilities recommended in the various tables in the guidance to this standard, as either:
* at least 1 unisex accessible toilet, accessed independently from any other sanitary accommodation, or
* where provided within separate sanitary accommodation for males and females, at least 1 accessible toilet for each sex. "

d/ how many accessible toilets are provided?
Brechin Community Campus
13 Total

(Please confirm that the 13 accessible toilets in Brechin Community Campus are all Unisex accessible toilets. Otherwise please clarify how many are provided within separate Sanitary accommodation for girls only. )

e/ how many mixed sex 'gender neutral' facilities are provided?
Brechin Community Campus
4 Total

f/ Please provide the number of mixed sex 'gender neutral' toilets that comply with the standards required for Unisex sanitary facilities i.e. Separate WC and wash hand basin for use by one person at a time.
Brechin Community Campus
There are 2 further toilets that are not included in the calculations above.

In summary, Brechin Community Campus should have 38 WC's and 29 Basins for girls.
Actual Sanitary Facility provisions are:

14 'girls only' Facilities are provided
13 (Unisex?) accessible toilets provided
2 further Unisex toilets provided (not in previous calculation)
4 mixed sex Facilities available for girls to use.

If I'm understanding your responses correctly then it would appear that the number of sanitary provisions for girls within the school falls far short of the number required by the authority's Building Standards and Public Safety Department.

I look forward to receiving clarification from you.

Yours sincerely,

J Stewart

I am currently out of the office until Monday 7th January 2019.   I will
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Dear Angus Council,

Thank you for your very detailed response. Unfortunately after extensive searches on the link you provided to the Council’s website Building Standards Public Access I have been unable to locate drawing plans which would reveal the layouts of the pupil toilets. Would you be able to provide direct links to the plans or provide further assistance regarding the search facility.

I would be grateful if you could confirm my understanding of your responses, using Brechin Community Campus as an example and looking at the pupil Sanitary Facilities available for girls you stated in response to question
(a) there should be 38 WC's and 29 Basins. You provided a further breakdown in response to question
(b) 14 Total -3 In the swimming changing
- In the staff swimming changing
-2 In the staff room
-5 Beside the Theatre
-3 in the dry change area

(Does the '14 total' figure equate to 14 WC and 14 Basins?
Also, please confirm that the pupils are permitted free access to these Sanitary facilities during the course of a normal school day, or if any of them are limited to staff use only. )

The Technical Handbook describes Accessible toilets as
"Accessible toilets should be provided within the overall number of sanitary facilities recommended in the various tables in the guidance to this standard, as either:
* at least 1 unisex accessible toilet, accessed independently from any other sanitary accommodation, or
* where provided within separate sanitary accommodation for males and females, at least 1 accessible toilet for each sex. "

d/ how many accessible toilets are provided?
Brechin Community Campus
13 Total

(Please confirm that the 13 accessible toilets in Brechin Community Campus are all Unisex accessible toilets. Otherwise please clarify how many are provided within separate Sanitary accommodation for girls only. )

e/ how many mixed sex 'gender neutral' facilities are provided?
Brechin Community Campus
4 Total

f/ Please provide the number of mixed sex 'gender neutral' toilets that comply with the standards required for Unisex sanitary facilities i.e. Separate WC and wash hand basin for use by one person at a time.
Brechin Community Campus
There are 2 further toilets that are not included in the calculations above.

In summary, Brechin Community Campus should have 38 WC's and 29 Basins for girls.
Actual Sanitary Facility provisions are:

14 'girls only' Facilities are provided
13 (Unisex?) accessible toilets provided
2 further Unisex toilets provided (not in previous calculation)
4 mixed sex Facilities available for girls to use.

If I'm understanding your responses correctly then it would appear that the number of sanitary provisions for girls within the school falls far short of the number required by the authority's Building Standards and Public Safety Department.

I look forward to receiving clarification from you.

Yours sincerely,

J Stewart

Dear Mr Stewart

Thank you for your request for clarification. I have approached the relevant officers for comment and will get back to you as soon as I receive these responses.

Regards
Jacqueline Dawson

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Jacqueline Dawson, Performance Information Officer, Schools and Learning, Angus Council, Angus House, Orchardbank Business Park, Forfar, DD8 1AN,
Tel 01307 491911 [mobile number]

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Dear Sir/Madam
 
In regard to your to your recent Freedom of Information request follow up
queries sent 27 December 2018 (received by the Council on 7 January
2019).  Please see the clarification below shown in red.  I hope this is
helpful to you.
 
Regards
Jacqueline Dawson
 
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Jacqueline Dawson, Performance Information Officer, Schools and Learning,
Angus Council, Angus House, Orchardbank Business Park, Forfar, DD8 1AN,
Tel 01307 491911  [mobile number]
 
 

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Dear Angus Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Angus Council's handling of my FOI request 'School Sanitary Facilities'.

The previous response provided is very confusing and I believe it may be because it has been interpreted as all toilets, including those for staff only. Please review my request and provide responses purely about the Sanitary Facilities available only for pupils.

The links you have provided do not direct me to the drawing plans as expected and I therefore am unable to locate them.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

J Stewart

FriedrichM,

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Stewart

 

I refer to your undernoted request for review dated 5 February 2018 with
regard to the council’s decision dated 21 December 2018 as subsequently
expanded on by email dated 27 December 2018.  I am sorry, that you find
the council’s response confusing.  So that I can accept this as a valid
request for review could you please clarify what the reason for your
dissatisfaction is.

 

·         We have provided you with information on WCs, urinals and basins
for the four schools for which we hold this information;

 

·         We have further split this up into separate single sex sanitary
facilities for girls and boys (as opposed to single WCs) and provided you
with the totals that are accessible by either gender.

 

In this context I am wondering whether confusion may have been caused by
the fact that on campuses some facilities are not exclusively accessible
by pupils only but also by members of the public and/or staff, i.e. if we
restricted the numbers to the school element of these settings which
relate to pupils only this would not provide you with a true description
of the facilities available.  Therefore we assume that the figures you
seemed to be interested in are those provided as Totals under (b/) and
(c/).  Please confirm my understanding or clarify whether your request for
review relates to another issue.

 

With regard to the links to drawings, some appear to be working while
others seem not.  However, it will be possible to provide you with the
plans for the four locations in a different format within the next few
days.

 

However, if you wish to be provided with the campus school element only,
i.e. under exclusion of sport facilities (which are available to members
of the public as well as pupils) and toilets for staff use, please could
you clarify this in which case we will treat this as a new request for
information.

 

I look forward to hearing from you. 

 

Yours sincerely

 

Martin Friedrich

 

 

___________________________________________

Martin Friedrich | Paralegal-FOI | Place - Legal & Democratic| Angus
Council |Angus House | Orchardbank Business Park | Forfar | DD8 1AN | DX
530678| Tel: 01307 476246

 

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FriedrichM, Angus Council

5 Attachments

Dear Mr Stewart

 

I refer to my previous email to you dated 7 February 2019 and the
council’s response to your request for information dated .  The council’s
Property Asset have supplied me meanwhile with the floorplans in .pdf
format which I now attach for your information.  I apologise that the
previously provided hyperlinks did not seem to work.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Martin Friedrich

 

 

___________________________________________

Martin Friedrich | Paralegal-FOI | Place - Legal & Democratic| Angus
Council |Angus House | Orchardbank Business Park | Forfar | DD8 1AN | DX
530678| Tel: 01307 491992

 

From: FriedrichM
Sent: 07 February 2019 14:53
To: '[FOI #535229 email]'
<[FOI #535229 email]>
Subject: FOI Request 1147 18: What do they know - School Sanitary
Facilities

 

Dear Mr Stewart

 

I refer to your undernoted request for review dated 5 February 2018 with
regard to the council’s decision dated 21 December 2018 as subsequently
expanded on by email dated 27 December 2018.  I am sorry, that you find
the council’s response confusing.  So that I can accept this as a valid
request for review could you please clarify what the reason for your
dissatisfaction is.

 

·         We have provided you with information on WCs, urinals and basins
for the four schools for which we hold this information;

 

·         We have further split this up into separate single sex sanitary
facilities for girls and boys (as opposed to single WCs) and provided you
with the totals that are accessible by either gender.

 

In this context I am wondering whether confusion may have been caused by
the fact that on campuses some facilities are not exclusively accessible
by pupils only but also by members of the public and/or staff, i.e. if we
restricted the numbers to the school element of these settings which
relate to pupils only this would not provide you with a true description
of the facilities available.  Therefore we assume that the figures you
seemed to be interested in are those provided as Totals under (b/) and
(c/).  Please confirm my understanding or clarify whether your request for
review relates to another issue.

 

With regard to the links to drawings, some appear to be working while
others seem not.  However, it will be possible to provide you with the
plans for the four locations in a different format within the next few
days.

 

However, if you wish to be provided with the campus school element only,
i.e. under exclusion of sport facilities (which are available to members
of the public as well as pupils) and toilets for staff use, please could
you clarify this in which case we will treat this as a new request for
information.

 

I look forward to hearing from you. 

 

Yours sincerely

 

Martin Friedrich

 

 

___________________________________________

Martin Friedrich | Paralegal-FOI | Place - Legal & Democratic| Angus
Council |Angus House | Orchardbank Business Park | Forfar | DD8 1AN | DX
530678| Tel: 01307 476246

 

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