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<p>Period poverty is an issue the government takes very seriously and has taken a
number of steps to address the problem.</p><p>Since January 2020, a Department for
Education scheme provides free period products in schools and 16-19 education institutions
in England. 94% of eligible secondary schools had accessed this scheme by December
2021. We are pleased to confirm that the continuation of free period products in schools
in England for all learners who need them until 2024. We have expanded the range of
products included to ensure more environmentally friendly and sustainable products,
based on user feedback.</p><p>Additionally, from 1 January 2021, the ‘tampon tax’
has been abolished - with a zero rate of VAT applying to all period products. Prior
to the abolition of the tax, a Tampon Tax Fund was in place to allocate the funds
generated from the VAT on period products, to projects which improve the lives of
disadvantaged women and girls. A final round of £11.25 million in grant funding was
awarded in November 2021 to distribute the VAT collected on period products in the
final nine months of the 2020/21 financial year, before the tax ended.</p><p>As well
as these steps, in 2019, NHS England announced that it would offer period products
to every hospital patient who needs them and the Home Office changed the law to ensure
that all people in custody are provided with health and hygiene products for free,
to include period products.</p><p>In March 2020, in light of COVID-19, the work of
the Period Poverty Taskforce was paused to free up resources to focus on the pandemic.</p>
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