Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:32 pm on 10 October 2017.
Poverty, in its many manifestations, is insidious and complex and can be debilitating. I wonder whether we can have a statement on the emerging trend now around period poverty, which is one of the manifestations of this within our communities. It’s being picked up with schools now, who are increasingly aware that some of their young students are attending and are unable to provide for themselves sanitary products. There are some tremendous initiatives to tackle this, both grass-roots initiatives, and local authority led as well. Wings Cymru, a group of women within my constituency, led by Gemma Hartnoll, has put together fundraising and they’re now working within three schools within my constituency and are hoping to expand it to more schools. Rhondda Cynon Taf are currently consulting on whether or not there is a scheme that can be rolled out within their area, but this is now widespread. It’s no coincidence that food banks—not only the Trussell Trust, but local church and charity and community food banks—are now regularly stocking sanitary products as part of the packages that they offer to families. So, could we have a statement on how Welsh Government can support and encourage both grass-roots volunteer and local authority efforts to tackle period poverty?