House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Period Poverty

Wednesday 11 March 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

Alistair Carmichael welcomed progress by the UK government in tackling period poverty but noted ongoing concerns based on ActionAid's report.
Carolyn Harris cited a Women's Aid report showing nearly half of domestic abuse survivors in refuges lack enough money for essentials including sanitary products.
The response highlighted the establishment of the tampon tax fund in 2015 to allocate VAT from period products to support vulnerable women and girls.

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Questions & Answers

Q1 Alistair Carmichael Lib Dem Orkney and Shetland

Context

The Government has taken steps to tackle period poverty in various settings such as hospitals, police custody, and schools. However, concerns remain about access to sanitary products in developing countries and for domestic abuse survivors.

Question

Welcoming the progress made by the UK government in tackling period poverty, Alistair Carmichael raised concerns that there is still work to be done domestically. He mentioned ActionAid's report indicating that one in ten girls in Africa miss school due to lack of access to sanitary products or toilets. The Government has set a target to eradicate period poverty in developing countries by 2030, and the hon. Member for North East Fife introduced a Bill to improve transparency on this issue.

Answer from Maria Caulfield (Minister of State for Women and Equalities)

The right hon Gentleman's Bill is welcomed, and in 2019 the Department for International Development announced a global campaign on period poverty aiming to end it by 2030. An allocation of up to £2 million was made for small and medium-sized charities working on period poverty in DFID's priority countries.

Answered

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Q2 Carolyn Harris Lab Croydon North

Benefits & Welfare Women & Equalities

Context

Women's Aid reported that almost half of domestic abuse survivors living in refuges do not have enough money to pay for essential items. Schools, prisons, and hospitals provide free sanitary products, prompting a query about when these provisions will be extended to victims of domestic abuse residing in refuges.

Question

A recent report by Women's Aid shows that almost half of domestic abuse survivors living in refuges do not have enough money to pay for essentials. Schools, prisons and hospitals now provide free sanitary products for women and girls. The hon. Member asked when victims of domestic abuse living in refuges can expect the same courtesy as those in other settings.