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<p>This Government is taking a range of action to ensure that women and girls are
able to access affordable sanitary products.</p><p>No girl should be held back from
reaching her potential because of her gender or background; this is why the current
and draft guidance on Relationship and Sex Education issued to schools encourages
them to make sensitive arrangements to help girls cope with menstruation. Schools
have discretion over how they use their funding and can make sanitary products available,
if they identify this as a barrier to attendance. The Department for Education’s published
analysis, which reviewed absence statistics, shows no evidence that period poverty
has a significant impact on school attendance,</p><p>Additionally, since 2015, the
Government has awarded £15 million a year to women’s charities through the Tampon
Tax Fund – equivalent to the amount of VAT raised from the sale of women’s sanitary
products. Through the current round of the fund, we will provide over £1.6 million
for the ‘Let’s Talk. Period.’ Project, delivered by ‘Brook Young People’ across England.
The project will identify vulnerable and disadvantaged young women who struggle to
afford products through the organisation’s existing community services and a network
of local partners, including schools. It will also develop resources to educate girls
about menstruation and hand out pre-paid cards allowing girls and young women in need
to access free sanitary products at local distribution points.</p><p> </p><p>Work
offers people the best opportunity to move out of poverty; across the UK, there are
over 3.3m more people in work, around 964,000 fewer workless households, and around
637,000 fewer children living in such households compared with 2010. Also since 2010
there are 1 million fewer people in absolute poverty (before housing costs) compared
with 2010.</p><p> </p>
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