COUNCIL bosses are to spend thousands of pounds to boost efficiency - by making it easier for female staff to spend a penny.

Ribble Valley councillors have approved plans to change the male toilets on level C of the council's four-storey head office in Clitheroe into female ones.

The decision came after a search for ways of improving efficiency revealed that female staff on level C were either having to go to the floor above or the one below every time they wanted the toilet.

The study also revealed that the majority of staff on level C - home to services such as licensing, councillor support and finance - were female.

A council spokesman said: "As a council which strives to provide the most effective service possible for our residents, we are constantly looking at way to be more efficient.

"It came to our attention during a refurbishment programme of staff toilets that there were no female toilets on level C, despite the fact there are far more female employees than male employees on this floor.

"We therefore decided to alter one of the male toilets so it is now female, saving female staff the need to go up or down a flight of stairs."

Whereas toilets for both men and women are common requirements in all new offices now, when Ribble Valley's council offices were built following the creation of the authority in 1974, it was still considered acceptable to alternate them on each floor.

The overall cost of the refurbishment to the staff toilets has been approved by councillors at £60,000.

Improving toilets has become a big issue for Ribble Valley Council.

Last year, it began a revamp of its public amenities around the borough to ensure that visitors enjoyed the best possible standards when they needed to respond to a call of nature.