Dear Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Chancellor John Healey, Education Secretary Lucy Powell, Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Phillipson, and Members of Parliament,

Periods are not a luxury. Access to period products is a right.

Period products are a basic necessity. Yet across the UK, girls and women still go without them, and nobody chooses to have a period or should be penalised financially for having one.

In a 2025 Girlguiding survey, 1 in 5 girls aged 11–21 said they worry about not having enough money for period products or period pain medication. Worldwide, an estimated 500 million people who menstruate lack adequate access to menstrual products and facilities. No girl in the UK should miss school, skip meals, use unsafe alternatives or feel ashamed because she can't afford a pad or tampon.

Progress has been made. England's Period Product Scheme provides free products in state-funded schools and colleges, and Scotland has made free provision a legal right. But access is still uneven. The English scheme covers only some settings, it has relied on year-by-year extensions, and many people who need products fall outside it.

We call on the UK Government to:

Put England's Period Product Scheme on a permanent, fully funded footing.

Extend free provision to universities, public buildings, libraries, health settings and other essential community spaces.

Work with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments so that every person in the UK has the same access, wherever they live.

Tackle stigma by consulting young people on the products they want, making them easy to reach, and supporting period education.

No one should have to choose between a period product and putting food on the table.

Periods are normal. Period products are essential. Let's make access universal.

make a difference like you know you can. Everyone deserves to have access to products. Periods aren’t a choice.