Minutes:
The Council had before it a Notice of Motion as set out in the agenda papers standing in the names of Ms C M Stalker, Mr R M Udall, Mr C J Bloore, Mr P M McDonald, Mr R C Lunn, Mr P Denham and Mr L C R Mallett.
The motion was moved by Ms C M Stalker and seconded by Mr R M Udall who both spoke in favour of it.
The Council agreed to deal with the motion on the day.
Those in favour of the motion made the following comments:
· Period poverty arose where girls and woman were unable to afford sanitary products. In certain circumstances, this resulted in children missing out on their education for up to a week at a time throughout their school life. Women and girls had no choice in this matter and sanitary products were relatively expensive especially with 5% VAT. The motion particularly aimed at young girls who relied on parents/guardians for support that was not always forthcoming. It was proposed to make free sanitary products available in all schools to all girls to avoid accusations of social division.
· Sanitary products were an unattainable luxury for some families. It was noticeable that some third world countries had recognised period poverty and were addressing it. Silence was preventing progress in this county with the stigma and shame leading young girls to improvise. Universal benefits would eliminate this stigma
· This was a taboo subject and therefore it was highly unlikely that councillors would be lobbied on the matter. The motion merely asked the Cabinet Member to undertake the necessary research and investigate ways to address period poverty and report back which would seem reasonable in the circumstances
· It was recognised that the matter was a national issue but there was no reason why this Council could not take a lead in addressing it
· This Council could have a role in bulk purchasing sanitary products and selling them on
· Although no evidence had been found, it did not mean there was not a problem. The Council would never be able to understand whether there was an issue locally unless the necessary research was undertaken. This motion did not commit the Council to additional spend
· The Council should not cause unnecessary delay by waiting for the issue to be addressed on a national level.
Those against the motion made the following comments:
· Tampons were a taboo subject but it was not a matter on which councillors had been lobbied. There was very little data and much of it was anecdotal which perhaps reinforced this taboo. It did not mean there was not a problem. The Government had a role in addressing the unnecessary VAT on sanitary products. The difficulty with the motion was that it addressed the matter at a local and not national level. There was a danger that action taken at a local level could undermine a national response. In addition, the scope of the motion was too restrictive
· Governors could take a vital role in establishing how their schools were addressing the issue of period poverty. The data from such an exercise could then be fed back to the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills
· The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills commented that he would commit to discuss this matter with representatives of school governing bodies and parents. However he had no experience of this matter being raised with him in his capacity as a governor and there was no evidence/data to support the theory that a lack or the cost of sanitary products was impacting on education of girls therefore the motion was unnecessary.
On a named vote the motion was lost.
Those voting in favour were:
Ms P Agar, Mr C J Bloore, Mr P Denham, Dr C Hotham, Mr R C Lunn, Mr P M McDonald, Mr L C R Mallett, Mrs F M Oborski, Prof J W Raine, Mrs M A Rayner, Ms C M Stalker, Mrs E B Tucker, Mr R M Udall, Mr T A L Wells (14)
Those voting against were:
Mrs A T Hingley, Mr A A J Adams, Mr R C Adams, Mr A T Amos, Mr T Baker-Price, Mr R W Banks, Mr R M Bennett, Mr G R Brookes, Mr B Clayton, Ms R L Dent, Mr N Desmond, Mrs E A Eyre, Mr S E Geraghty, Mr P Grove, Mr I D Hardiman, Mr A I Hardman, Mr P B Harrison, Mr M J Hart, Mrs L C Hodgson, Dr A J Hopkins, Mr S M Mackay, Ms K J May, Mr P Middlebrough, Mr A P Miller, Mr R J Morris, Mr J A D O'Donnell, Ms T L Onslow, Dr K A Pollock, Mrs J A Potter, Mr A C Roberts, Mr C Rogers, Mr J H Smith, Mr A Stafford, Mr C B Taylor, Mr P A Tuthill, Ms R Vale, Ms S A Webb. (37)
Those abstaining were:
Mr R P Tomlinson (1)