Should period products be freely available by law across Scotland? That’s the question being posed by Holyrood’s Local Government and Communities Committee.
The Committee is considering a Bill which would ensure everyone in Scotland who needs to use period products can obtain them free of charge through a “period products scheme”.
The Bill was introduced by Monica Lennon MSP and has been brought forward partly in response to concerns about “period poverty” which describes difficulty in being able to afford period products.
If passed, the Bill would see schools and colleges across Scotland provide period products free of charge. The Scottish Government would have the power to place other public organisations under this duty in future if the Bill is agreed. The Scottish Government could compensate organisations for the cost of providing products.
Committee Convener James Dornan MSP said: “No one who needs period products should have to go without them because they can’t afford or access them.
“Currently free period products are supplied across schools, colleges and universities and under voluntary schemes by other public and community bodies. But we want to know if this goes far enough and whether this should become a legal duty.
“We’d like to hear whether people feel the Bill will help tackle this issue, or if there are any other approaches which would work better.”
You can contact the Committee with your views here.
The call for views closes on Tuesday 5 November.
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