Fund free female sanitary products for all women and girls

I would the government or parliament to help get female sanitary products free for all women and girls. One in 10 young women has been unable to afford sanitary wear at some point.

According to a study by Plan International UK, one in 10 girls and young women aged 14-21 has been unable to afford sanitary wear at some point. This situation exacerbates the issues surrounding period poverty, leading to negative impacts on women’s health, education, and emotional well-being.

We are committed to ensuring that everyone has access to essential items, including period products.

There are a number of schemes across Government which ensure that those who are most vulnerable can access the products they need.

The Department for Education’s Period Products scheme, launched in 2020, provides free period products to girls and women in their place of study. All state-maintained primary and secondary schools, and DfE funded 16-19 educational organisations in England, are eligible. The range includes period pads, tampons and sustainable options such as period pants. This scheme supports girls and women in their place of study by helping to reduce anxiety associated with coming on a period unexpectedly or lack of access to products due to affordability.

Similarly, all women and girls being cared for by the NHS are entitled to be given, on request, appropriate period products free of charge.

We know that poverty doesn’t discriminate and that women and girls may face additional pressures given the cost of period products. It is up to each organisation to decide if they wish to offer free products. That is why the Government is tackling the root causes of poverty, through measures to make work pay, boosting the living wage, and investing in public services. The Government is taking far reaching action, including:

● Increasing the National Living Wage, to benefit around 2.4 million workers and increase earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW by £900. Full-time workers on the 18-20 National Minimum Wage will see earnings increase by £1,500. ● Taking £117 off energy bills, on top of the £150 off energy bills for up to 6 million families under the Warm Home Discount. ● Opened 1,250 primary school free breakfast clubs worth £450 to parents. ● Providing 30 hours of free childcare, which can save families using their full entitlement on average £8,000 per year per eligible child. ● Lifting 550,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament by ending the Two Child Limit, expanding free school meals to over half a million more children and other measures in the Child Poverty Strategy.

Cabinet Office