Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in the event of an eligible institution not using all of its allocated funding under the period product scheme, whether the remaining funds will roll over for use in 2021.
Answered by Vicky Ford
On 20 January 2020, the department launched a new scheme which makes free period products available for state-funded primary schools, secondary schools and colleges in England. The scheme remained in operation during partial school and college closures, and these organisations are still able to order a range of period products and distribute them to learners.
This scheme is in place to ensure that no learner misses out on education due to their period, and we continue to work with our delivery partner, phs, to encourage engagement with the scheme. Schools and colleges should have period products available should learners need them, and they may choose to order products through this scheme or through an alternative route.
Each eligible organisation has been allocated a budget for the scheme in 2020 based on 35% of the number of learners whose legal gender is female and who, based on age, are likely to have started their period. 35% is an assumed take-up rate, reflecting the fact that not all learners will have a need for products all of the time. This mirrors the assumed take-up rate used in the scheme to provide learners in Scotland with access to free period products. The total amount spent through the scheme will depend on the value of period products ordered by schools and colleges.
We are continuing to monitor the scheme closely and we will make information available about any extensions or changes to the scheme in due course.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the amount his Department will spend under the free period products scheme by the end of 2020.
Answered by Vicky Ford
On 20 January 2020, the department launched a new scheme which makes free period products available for state-funded primary schools, secondary schools and colleges in England. The scheme remained in operation during partial school and college closures, and these organisations are still able to order a range of period products and distribute them to learners.
This scheme is in place to ensure that no learner misses out on education due to their period, and we continue to work with our delivery partner, phs, to encourage engagement with the scheme. Schools and colleges should have period products available should learners need them, and they may choose to order products through this scheme or through an alternative route.
Each eligible organisation has been allocated a budget for the scheme in 2020 based on 35% of the number of learners whose legal gender is female and who, based on age, are likely to have started their period. 35% is an assumed take-up rate, reflecting the fact that not all learners will have a need for products all of the time. This mirrors the assumed take-up rate used in the scheme to provide learners in Scotland with access to free period products. The total amount spent through the scheme will depend on the value of period products ordered by schools and colleges.
We are continuing to monitor the scheme closely and we will make information available about any extensions or changes to the scheme in due course.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding will be made available for the free period products scheme in 2021.
Answered by Vicky Ford
On 20 January 2020, the department launched a new scheme which makes free period products available for state-funded primary schools, secondary schools and colleges in England. The scheme remained in operation during partial school and college closures, and these organisations are still able to order a range of period products and distribute them to learners.
This scheme is in place to ensure that no learner misses out on education due to their period, and we continue to work with our delivery partner, phs, to encourage engagement with the scheme. Schools and colleges should have period products available should learners need them, and they may choose to order products through this scheme or through an alternative route.
Each eligible organisation has been allocated a budget for the scheme in 2020 based on 35% of the number of learners whose legal gender is female and who, based on age, are likely to have started their period. 35% is an assumed take-up rate, reflecting the fact that not all learners will have a need for products all of the time. This mirrors the assumed take-up rate used in the scheme to provide learners in Scotland with access to free period products. The total amount spent through the scheme will depend on the value of period products ordered by schools and colleges.
We are continuing to monitor the scheme closely and we will make information available about any extensions or changes to the scheme in due course.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many eligible institutions have (a) registered for and (b) ordered free period products under his Department's free period product scheme since that scheme was launched in January 2020.
Answered by Vicky Ford
On 20 January 2020, the department launched a new scheme which makes free period products available for state-funded primary schools, secondary schools and colleges in England. This is an important step to ensure that menstruation does not present a barrier to learning and that no-one is held back from reaching their potential.
The scheme remained in operation during partial school closures, and schools and colleges were still able to order a range of period products through the online portal and distribute them to students.
All eligible schools and colleges were automatically registered for the scheme and were sent a welcome email in January. There have since been further email campaigns to all eligible schools and colleges, encouraging them to engage with the scheme.
Our delivery partner, phs Group, reported that since the scheme launched, almost 40% of eligible organisations have placed orders for period products.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 28 October 2019 to Question 2798 on Educational Institutions: Sanitary Protection, which of the products to be made available to schools and 16-19 institutions (a) contain (i) plastic, (ii) plastic applicators and (iii) no plastic and (b) are reusable; and what steps he is taking to promote the use of sustainable products under that scheme.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The scheme will provide a wide range of period products for schools and 16-19 organisations to choose from. This will include environmentally friendly pads, reusable pads, organic non-applicator tampons and menstrual cups. The ingredients for each product will be provided on the ordering portal and in the scheme’s guidance.
Schools and colleges know their learners best and will have the freedom to select the most suitable products for their learners, considering cost and type of product. We will be monitoring product choice closely and will continue to seek opportunities to encourage the use of sustainable products as the scheme develops.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the contract summary of the Period Product provision to schools and post-16 education institutions across England, which company was awarded the contract following the invitation to tender; on what date that contract started; whether the contract awarded was for the provision of environmentally sustainable and reusable menstrual products; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government has listened to concerns from teachers, pupils, students and parents about how the costs of period products can impact on education. No-one should be held back from reaching their potential, which is why the Department has announced a scheme to provide access to free period products in schools and 16-19 institutions in England.
Following a competitive tender exercise, a contract was agreed with Personal Hygiene Services Ltd on the 15 October 2019 for the provision of period products. The scheme will roll out to schools and 16-19 institutions in January 2020. A wide range of products, including environmentally friendly pads and tampons, as well as reusable products such as reusable pads will be available.
Schools and 16-19 institutions know their pupils and students best and will therefore have the freedom to select the most suitable products, taking account of age, individual needs, cost and type of product. The Department will provide guidance, to be published later this year, which will support institutions to make these decisions and implement the scheme effectively.
The Department will be monitoring product choice closely and will continue to seek opportunities to encourage the use of sustainable products as the scheme develops.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking with the Department for Education to provide free sanitary products in (a) secondary schools, (b) colleges and (c) universities.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Provision of sanitary products in schools, colleges, and universities is a matter for the Department for Education.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to provide free sanitary products to (a) girls and(b) women in (i) secondary schools, (ii) colleges and (iii) universities.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
No one should be held back from reaching their potential because of their gender or background. My right hon. Friend, the Minister for Women and Equalities announced a new expert joint taskforce of government, business and the third sector on 4 March 2019, and we will work with this taskforce to develop a sustainable solution to period poverty in the UK.
Our statutory guidance on ‘Sex and relationship education’ (2000) encourages schools to make sensitive arrangements to help girls cope with menstruation, and we have incorporated this advice into our draft Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education guidance. Schools will be required to teach these new subjects from September 2020.
Schools and colleges are best placed to identify and address the needs of their pupils; have discretion over how they use their funding; and can make sanitary products available to disadvantaged pupils if they identify this as a barrier to attainment or attendance. We support schools in addressing the needs of disadvantaged pupils through the provision of the pupil premium, equivalent to more than £2.4 billion of additional funding this year alone. We provide post-16 education and training providers with a 16-19 discretionary bursary allocation, which they can use to support young people aged between 16 and 19 who need support with costs to stay in further education.
Higher education providers are autonomous bodies and it is up to them how they meet their students’ needs. This can include providing discretionary financial support where required.
Lastly, as a government, through the tampon tax fund we provided £1.68 million for the ‘Let’s Talk. Period’ project, which is distributing sanitary products to young women and girls in need across England.