Found: Q176 Lia Nici: Minister Caulfield, I will turn to something qui te different : period poverty.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 28 April 2022 (HL7975), what plans they have to resume the activities of the Period Poverty Taskforce.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This Government takes the issue of period poverty very seriously and we are taking steps to ensure that period products are available and affordable for those most in need through the organisations closest to them.

Since January 2020, a Department for Education scheme provides free period products in schools and 16-19 education institutions in England. 97% of secondary schools, 92% of post 16 organisations and 68% primary schools have made at least one order since the scheme began in January 2020.

In March 2019 NHS England announced that it would offer period products to every hospital patient who needs them (including long-term in-patients).

As part of our wider strategy to make period products affordable and available for all women, we have also made it clear that a zero rate of VAT applies to period products now that the UK has left the EU. These products are essential so it is right that there is now no VAT charge.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of value lost to the economy through period inequity, as set out in the report, The State of Period Equity in the UK, published by In Kind Direct on 29 February.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No formal assessment has been made. Menstrual health and gynaecological conditions are a priority in the Women’s Health Strategy for England. This strategy sets out our ambitions for improving information provision and tackling stigma surrounding topics such as periods and menstrual health, so society is better able to support women across their lives, including in schools and in workplaces. The statutory relationships, health, and sex education curriculum covers several areas of women’s health, including menstrual health. In July 2023 we launched a women’s health area on the National Health Service website, which brings together over 100 health topics, and includes a section on periods.

The Government is also committed to making period products more financially accessible, which will reduce barriers faced by women and girls in accessing education and work. The Period Product Scheme is available to girls and women in state-funded schools and colleges, providing a wide range of free period products, so that periods are not a barrier to education. 99% of secondary schools, 94% of post 16-year-old education organisations, and 75% of primary schools have used the scheme since it began in 2020. Free period products are also available for people in hospital and in custody. Since 1 January 2021, a zero rate of VAT has applied to sanitary products, and in January 2024 this was extended to include period pants.

Within the workplace, flexible working arrangements can allow individuals, including women suffering from menstrual problems, to work at a time, place, and during hours that support their needs. The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act makes changes to the right to request flexible working, to provide employees with better access to flexible working arrangements.

More widely, the Government continues to support people on lower incomes, including those who struggle to afford period products. We will spend approximately £124 billion on people of working age and children, through the welfare system in Great Britain, and the Government has provided support, totalling £96 billion, from 2022 onwards to help households with the cost of living. We are providing further support for 2024/2025, including uprating working age benefits by 6.7%, raising the National Living Wage, and extending the Household Support Fund in England for a further six months.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Zimbabwe on period poverty.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

I have not reviewed this matter in my meetings with President Mnangagwa or his Minister but supporting women and girls in Zimbabwe is a UK priority. Through our health programme the UK has delivered menstrual health education as part of the Sister2Sister (S2S) clubs which included supporting sustainable menstrual health options for girls such as disposable pads, reusable pads, menstrual cups, and menstrual underwear. Since 2012 the UK has worked alongside the Government of Zimbabwe to help provide sanitary products for schools through the Zimbabwe Girls Secondary Education (ZGSE) Programme implemented by CAMFED.

As a female living in the UK at times I can’t afford monthly period products. We believe it's time the Government made period products free to access for women who have no choice in having periods.

Found: Period poverty affects many women and girls in the UK: - According to Plan International UK, one

Found: Sanitary products also had near universal support, with some participants noting that the issue of ‘period

Found: The broad theme of period poverty is mentioned by a number of responses, including a re sponse from

Found: opportunities to continue to build links with international organisations such as UNICEF in areas such as period

Found: only tradition, culture and F&D but also Scotland’s pioneering policies such as Babybox and tackling period

Found: onsocial media to enhance Scotland’ interestsScotland’s InterestsFM Related Contents Human Rights Period