PKAVS, foodbank and pupils help address period poverty

Perthshire organisations and individuals met a Scottish Government committee this week to discuss period poverty and the provision of sanitary products.

The Local Government and Communities Committee met representatives from the Perth and Kinross Association of Voluntary Service (PKAVS) and Perth and Kinross Foodbank, as well as pupils from local secondary schools.

The meeting was held as part of the committee’s scrutiny of the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill.

Group representatives and individuals in attendance discussed issues surrounding period poverty and their experiences with existing provision schemes.

Committee depute convener Sarah Boyack MSP said: “The committee began its inquiry into the Period Product (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill with the aim of discovering whether such a scheme is necessary and how it would be implemented.

“Our visit to PKAVS was very productive.”

Lori Hughes, partnership and communities manager at PKAVS, said she was “delighted” to have hosted the meeting with the committee.

She added: “We are strong proponents of community empowerment and, as the local third-sector interface for Perth and Kinross, are committed to building on our previous consultation exercise from May 2019 with more than 600 women and girls, to ensure lived experience and ideas for positive change are given space for discussion and a platform to flourish.”

More information can be found on the Scottish Parliament website.