Sanitary Protection

(asked on 10th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing free access to (a) tampons and (b) sanitary pads in England.


Answered by
Steve Barclay Portrait
Steve Barclay
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This question was answered on 18th December 2020

The Government is committed to tackling period poverty, and DHSC ministers are working with officials to develop a women’s health strategy.

Vital sexual and reproductive healthcare services have been maintained during the pandemic, including via online services, and NHS England announced in March 2019 that it will offer period products to every hospital patient who needs them. Last year we introduced the period product scheme to provide free period products for all learners who need them. This scheme will continue into 2021.

At Budget 2020 the Government announced that from January 2021, there will be no VAT charged on women’s sanitary products. And in the meantime, the £15m Tampon Tax Fund allocates the funds generated from the VAT on sanitary products to front line projects that directly improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls.

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