AROUND 40 cross-party MPs have signed a letter to expand the current provision of free period products to all toilets across the Westminster estate.
Activist Sally Donald, office manager for SNP MP Graham Leadbitter has launched the campaign urging Westminster to "lead by example" after the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish parliaments have all done so.
So far, just under 40 MPs have signed the letter from the SNP, Labour, LibDems, Greens and Independents.
Signatories include MPs Stephen Flynn, Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.
Donald, who is co-chair of ParliGender - Parliament’s workplace equality network for gender equality - intends to send the letter to Lucy Powell MP in her role as Leader of the House and chair of the modernisation committee at the end of the week.
In the letter, Donald writes: "The current protocol states ‘period products for emergency use are available free of charge in selected toilets across the parliamentary estate’.
"This is simply not fit for purpose – those who need to access period products must be able to do so across the entirety of the estate. It is not feasible, or indeed fair, that women should have to either pay or source a map to find where they can access the sanitary products they need, in the middle of their working day.
"Research conducted in 2023 found 21% of women and people who menstruate in the UK struggle to afford period products. Not only does this cause financial worries as well as potential embarrassment and anxiety, but it can also result in serious health conditions.
"Access to period products is a matter of dignity, health and equality. Whilst the UK Parliament has made good progress in becoming a more modern workplace, there is still some way to go. Looking to our counterparts in the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd and the Northern Irish Assembly, they have all implemented provision of free period products within their Parliament.
"We need to lead by example and ensure that no one who works in these buildings here in Westminster is disadvantaged by a lack of access to essential sanitary products.
"We therefore ask that period products be provided free of charge in every toilet across the Parliamentary estate, as soon as is possible, to ensure that Parliament is an accessible workspace for all."
In 2022, Scotland became the first country in the world to protect the right to have access to free period products and, as a result, councils and education providers must legally make sanitary towels and tampons available free of charge to anyone who needs them.
