问答题

Read carefully the following excerpt on closing public toilets in UK, and then write your response in NO LESS THAN 200 words, in which you should: summarize the main message of the excerpt, and then comment on whether public toilets should be closed in UK. You should support yourself with information from the excerpt.Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. Public Toilets "Wiped Out" in Parts of UK Some UK High Streets and public spaces no longer have any council-run public toilets, the BBC has learned. At least 1,782 facilities have closed across the UK in the last decade, Freedom of Information requests found. The Local Government Association said councils were trying to keep toilets open but faced squeezed budgets. Public toilets have existed on UK High Streets for more than 150 years, but there is no legal requirement for local authorities to provide toilets, meaning they are often closed down if councils feel they cannot afford the upkeep. Raymond Martin, of the British Toilet Association, said providing toilets was about health, well-being, equality and social inclusion. "It’s also about public decency and public dignity—we don’t want people being forced to urinate in the streets," he said. Joan Dean said her husband Brian, who has Parkinson’s disease, was left humiliated when he wet himself after failing to find a toilet on a trip to Levenshulme, in Manchester, where 18 toilets have been closed in the last 10 years. A Local Government Association spokesman said councils were doing everything they could to keep public toilets open, including running community toilet schemes to enable pubs, restaurants and shops to make their toilets available to the public. Cuts meant councils had less to spend on community services and the next few years would continue to be a challenge, he said.