In a bid to end period poverty in the UK, the government has announced it will take steps to make free sanitary products available to all schools in England in 2019. The scheme, which will echo the successful model that has already been rolled out in Scotland, looks set to launch in September. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will pledge the new funding during the spring statement on March 13.
The news has been welcomed by campaigners who have been calling for government action for many months now. In 2017, after surveying 1,000 girls and women aged 14 to 21, Plan International found that as many as one in 10 girls are currently unable to afford sanitary products – with 12 per cent having to improvise their own hygiene wear – resulting in girls missing school.
The details are set to be announced on March 13 – with the full funding due to be revealed in the spending review later this year. However, it’s expected that the treasury will fund the scheme in full, with no restrictions, therefore free sanitary products will be available to all regardless of economic background. “This is a victory for all those who have campaigned for an end to period poverty,” said Dawn Butler, the shadow minister for women and equalities. “I set out Labour’s support for free sanitary products in secondary schools at Labour conference in 2017, so we’re pleased that the government has adopted yet another Labour policy. It’s a disgrace that period poverty exists in the sixth richest country in the world.”
