Following the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government’s statement to Parliament this week outlining the challenging financial situation faced by the Scottish Government, it was confirmed by Ms Robison’s letter to the Finance and Public Administration Committee that Scottish Government would “seek to reprofile the commencement of the Changing Places toilet fund” as part of an £18.8million reduction to the mental health budget for financial years 2024/2025.

PAMIS are seeking further clarity from Scottish Government on how these budget cuts will impact upon this vital funding which formed part of a commitment to Changing Places toilets and was announced within the Programme for Government 2021/2022. The investment was initially due to be delivered in phases over the course of this parliamentary term, in order to increase the number of these facilities across the country.

We have been alerted to the fact that this will now be delayed with the current fund no longer able to launch in the current financial year as planned. We understand that the Scottish Government will continue with the preparatory phase of designing the funding programme but we have no further information on a new launch date.

We will be meeting with the Scottish Government to discuss our concerns and stress the vital importance of this fund for the families PAMIS supports as well as thousands of others who rely on Changing Places toilets. We will work with key stakeholders to support the delivery of the fund and to ensure that new Changing Places toilets are created where they are most needed and in a way that addresses existing gaps in provision. We will continue to support the work of the Cross Party Group for Changing Places toilets and its members and carry on our engagement with other key stakeholders to ensure their needs are fully understood, considered and reflected in the funding criteria. Our team are already creating the necessary resources so that communities are well supported when the fund launches.