Green Group member motion

This Council notes that:

•         The average menstruating person spends £4800 on period products in their lifetime (Bloody Good Period, 2019)

•         36% of girls aged 14-21 in the UK struggled to afford or access period products during the coronavirus pandemic, equivalent to over a million people (Plan International, 2021)

•         Half of these girls could not afford period products at all and 73% said they had to use toilet paper instead of pads or tampons at some point

•         Inability to buy period products leads to social exclusion, particularly from education (Global Citizen, 2018)

•         Period poverty is a particular problem for refugees and those in the asylum system, who receive under £40 a week in state support (Bloody Good Period/Women for Refugee Women, 2019)

•         Young Women’s Music Project currently delivers a volunteer-run distribution network in Oxford to support people who menstruate or have young children and cannot access sanitary products or nappies

•         Under the Period Products (Free Provision) Scotland Bill, the Scottish Government has set up Scotland-wide scheme to allow anyone who needs period products to get them free of charge, and gives the Scottish Government the power to make public bodies including schools, colleges and universities provide period products for free (Scottish Parliament, 2021)

•         As part of the Welsh Government’s Period Dignity Strategic Action Plan, funding has been provided to local authorities and Further Education institutions to ensure that period products can be accessed free of charge by learners in schools, Further Education Institutions and to those in need in communities (Welsh Government, 2021)

This Council believes that:

•         Everyone who requires period products should be able to access them for free

•         A person’s period should not prevent them from succeeding in life

This Council resolves to:

•         Request that the Executive Director (Communities and People) submits a report to Cabinet setting out the feasibility of providing free period products in public toilets and other public buildings including the Town Hall and community centres – in female, male, disabled and gender neutral facilities, including options to:

•         Explore whether any free disposable period products provided by the council can be sustainably sourced

•         Provide sanitary waste bins in all toilets, not just female toilets

•         Publicise the provision of free period products through council communication channels

•         Call on the Cabinet Member for Health and Transport to:

•         Write to the County Council encouraging it to widen access to free period products across Oxfordshire, providing free period products in toilets of all public buildings including libraries, schools and colleges.

•         Write to the Minister for Women and Equalities, calling on the UK government to make period products free and available to all who need them across England, as has been done in Scotland and Wales

Cllr Rawle, seconded by Cllr Pegg, proposed the submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note.

Cllr Aziz, seconded by Cllr Upton, proposed the amendment as set out in the briefing note.

Council debated the motion and amendment.  On being put to the vote, the amendment was agreed.

On being put to the vote the amended motion was then agreed.

This Council notes that:

·       The average menstruating person spends £4800 on period products in their lifetime (Bloody Good Period, 2019)

·       36% of girls aged 14-21 in the UK struggled to afford or access period products during the coronavirus pandemic, equivalent to over a million people (Plan International, 2021)

·       Half of these girls could not afford period products at all and 73% said they had to use toilet paper instead of pads or tampons at some point

·       Inability to buy period products leads to social exclusion, particularly from education (Global Citizen, 2018)

·       Period poverty is a particular problem for refugees and those in the asylum system, who receive under £40 a week in state support (Bloody Good Period/Women for Refugee Women, 2019)

·       Young Women’s Music Project currently delivers a volunteer-run distribution network in Oxford to support people who menstruate or have young children and cannot access sanitary products or nappies

·       Under the Period Products (Free Provision) Scotland Bill, the Scottish Government, sponsored by Labour MSP Monica Lennon,  has set up Scotland-wide scheme to allow anyone who needs period products to get them free of charge, and gives the Scottish Government the power to make public bodies including schools, colleges and universities provide period products for free (Scottish Parliament, 2021)

·       As part of the Welsh Labour Government’s Period Dignity Strategic Action Plan, funding has been provided to local authorities and Further Education institutions to ensure that period products can be accessed free of charge by learners in schools, Further Education Institutions and to those in need in communities (Welsh Government, 2021)

This Council believes that:

·       Everyone who requires period products should be able to access them for free

·       A person’s period should not prevent them from succeeding in life

This Council resolves to:

•       Work with period poverty charities and organisations in the city to provide free period products including sustainable ones in public toilets and other public buildings including the Town Hall and community centres – in female, male, disabled and gender neutral facilities, including options to:

·       Explore whether any free disposable period products provided can be sustainably sourced

·       Provide sanitary waste bins in all toilets, not just female toilets

·       Publicise the provision of free period products including through council communication channels

·       Call on the Cabinet Member for Health and Transport to:

·       Write to the County Council encouraging it to widen access to free period products across Oxfordshire, providing free period products in toilets of all public buildings including libraries, schools and colleges.

·       Write to the Minister for Women and Equalities, calling on the UK government to make period products free and available to all who need them across England, as has been done in Scotland and Wales