Chair of the Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Committee welcomes Bill on the free provision of period products

2nd December 2020

Last week (24 November 2020), the Scottish Parliament approved the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill which will make free period products available for anyone who needs them.

Councillor Linda Munro, Chair of Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Committee, said: "On behalf of the Council, I welcome the Bill passed by the Scottish Parliament which will make period products accessible in our communities.

"Everyone should have access to sanitary products when they need them. Until now, the costs of these products have had a financial impact on households living on a low income. This year, more people than ever before have required additional support as we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. This Bill will make sure that no one living and working in Highland, and across Scotland, will be in a position where they have to forego this basic necessity."

Under the Bill, the Council has a duty to ensure that period products are accessible across Highland including in Highland Council educational settings. Our schools, with Scottish Government funding, have been supporting our pupils with free access to products since 2018.

The Council's Humanitarian Distribution Centre so far has distributed approximately 840 boxes of period products, each box containing about 12 packets.