evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

Scotland Period Products (Free Provision) Act 2021

United Kingdom · Edinburgh · See the United Kingdom profile · See the Edinburgh profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 55% 63/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

The world's first law mandating free period products for all who need them. Scotland's Period Products (Free Provision) Act 2021 came into force in August 2022, covering schools, colleges, universities and public buildings, backed by £53M invested since 2018.

84%
Users reporting a positive impact (2019)
83%
Users reporting reduced menstruation-related worry (2019)
~1 in 10
Girls who missed school due to lack of period products (pre-Act)
£53,000,000+
Government investment in the scheme (since 2018)
£800 of £83,000 allocation
Stirling Council underspend example
Scotland Period Products (Free Provision) Act 2021

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Scottish Government
Period
2021–present
Keywords
public sector, health, gender equality, social inclusion, legislation

Context

The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021 received Royal Assent on 12 January 2021 and came into force 15 August 2022, making Scotland the first country to establish a universal legal right to free period products, with a statutory duty on local authorities and education providers to make products freely available in schools, colleges, universities and public buildings.

Results

The Scottish Government has invested over £53 million since 2018. A 2019 Young Scot survey found 84% of users reported a positive impact, 83% reduced worry about menstruation, and 60% were more able to continue day-to-day activities; prior to the Act, roughly 1 in 10 girls missed school due to lack of period products and 1 in 6 had experienced period poverty. A November 2022 government baseline survey (n=1,400) confirmed access was rated non-judgemental and met most users' needs.

Conclusions

Implementation has faced significant delivery gaps: several local authorities spent only a fraction of allocated funds (e.g. Stirling Council: £800 of an £83,000 allocation; Glasgow City Council: £110,000 of £620,000). An independent mixed-methods evaluation covering 2022/23-2024/25 is planned for October 2025.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — Over £53 million invested since 2018.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Royal Assent Jan 2021; in force Aug 2022; independent evaluation due Oct 2025.
Staffing & skills
Local authority and education-provider staff administering statutory provision

Conditions for success

  • Statutory duty (legal enforceability) rather than voluntary provision
  • Sustained multi-year national funding

Common failure modes

  • Large local-authority variance in fund utilisation — some councils spent under 1% of allocation

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

Similar practices you may find useful