Period poverty pilot launched

A pilot scheme – aimed at tackling the problem of `period poverty’– has been introduced at three Stirling area schools.

From Monday of last week, free sanitary products were made available to girls at Stirling High School, Bannockburn High School and Bannockburn Primary School.

Stirling Council has allocated £30,000 to pay for the initiative which is likely to be extended to all Stirling Council schools next term.

Convener of the children and young people committee Susan McGill said the pilot scheme in the three schools would be evaluated during the summer.

Council officials were hoping to find out soon what allocation they would receive from the Scottish Government to fund the scheme.

“The SNP believes it is unacceptable that any woman or girl in Scotland should be unable to access sanitary products due to`period poverty’, where they cannot afford to buy these essential products,”added Councillor McGill.

“We want to make sanitary products easily accessible to those who need them, without stigma.

“I am pleased with the progress made within Stirling schools to address this, particularly with the pilot scheme now underway.

“An extensive and successful consultation was carried out with pupils at Stirling High School prior to this pilot starting, and it is intended that the pilot scheme will lead to this initiative being extended to all schools next term.

“The Scottish Government has committed to providing access to free sanitary products to students in schools, colleges and universities from August this year.

“We are determined to ensure the correct arrangements are in place to do this locally by testing the scheme now, in order to ensure that period poverty in Stirling’s schools soon becomes a thing of the past.”

Councillor Margaret Brisley, Stirling Labour education spokesperson said: “It was Scottish Labour that put the vital issue of eliminating period poverty onto the agenda at the Scottish Parliament and I am pleased that Labour and SNP councillors working in partnership in Stirling are delivering this here for the benefit of our young people.”