> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theferret.scot/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Claim period products bill was brought by Labour and opposed by SNP is Half True - URL: https://www.theferret.scot/period-products-bill-labour-snp/ - Published: 2021-03-08T12:18:45.000Z - Updated: 2021-03-08T12:18:49.000Z - Author: Ferret Journalists - Tags: Politics and power, Society, Fact Checks, #davesutton2gmail-com, Health, Labour, SNP, half true, Holyrood, Monica Lennon, Nicola Sturgeon, period, period poverty, Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-10-15 12:08, #older_unmetered **Scotland made period products free to anyone who needs them in January this year.** The achievement was included in a tweet from the [SNP’s official account](https://twitter.com/theSNP/status/1364521666190209025?ref=theferret.scot) on 24 February, in which the party cited the move as an example of them “delivering for Scotland”. This was queried by former Labour MP Danielle Rowley, who [claimed](https://twitter.com/DaniRowley/status/1364668594496409600?s=20&ref=theferret.scot) that the credit for the bill actually lay with Labour MSP Monica Lennon, and that the SNP had in fact “spent most of their time” opposing the legislation. ![Period products fact check](https://theferret.scot/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Period-products-fact-check.png) [Ferret Fact Service](https://theferret.scot/fact-check/?ref=theferret.scot) looked at the claim and found it **Half True**. ### **Evidence** In November 2020 MSPs gave their unanimous backing to a [bill that](https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/112914.aspx?ref=theferret.scot) makes period products such as tampons and sanitary pads available free of charge to anyone who needs them. The bill [passed into law on](https://beta.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/period-products-free-provision-scotland-bill?ref=theferret.scot) 12 January this year. The SNP’s [tweet was accompanied](https://twitter.com/theSNP/status/1364521666190209025?ref=theferret.scot) by the hashtag #DeliveringForScotland that stated “Scotland is leading the world in tackling period poverty”. The tweet linked through to a [Delivering for Scotland](https://www.snp.org/record/?ref=theferret.scot) page on the SNP website that lists “mak\[ing\] sanitary products available to all those who need them, free of charge” as one of the party’s “top achievements”. The draft [Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill](https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/112914.aspx?ref=theferret.scot) was introduced to the Scottish Parliament by MSP for Central Scotland Monica Lennon in April 2019. Lennon first raised the issue of period poverty in parliament in [2016](https://www.theyworkforyou.com/sp/?id=2016-09-27.6.0&s=period+poverty+monica+lennon+2016&ref=theferret.scot#g6.8). During that debate SNP member Gillian Martin said the SNP national council had already passed a motion to “look into the possibility” of piloting a scheme that would offer free access to period products. The Scottish Government funded a [six-month pilot](https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/research-and-analysis/2018/05/access-sanitary-products-aberdeen-pilot-evaluation-report/documents/00535768-pdf/00535768-pdf/govscot%3Adocument/00535768.pdf?ref=theferret.scot) in Aberdeen the following year. In 2018 it began providing [free sanitary products in](https://www.gov.scot/publications/access-free-sanitary-products-programme-government-commitment-business-regulatory-impact/pages/1/?ref=theferret.scot) schools, colleges and universities across Scotland. When Lennon’s bill was introduced in 2019 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that while the government would “certainly look very carefully at the provisions of the bill” she was “[100 per cent behind](https://www.theyworkforyou.com/sp/?id=2019-04-25.18.0&s=period+poverty+monica+lennon&ref=theferret.scot#g18.2)” what it was trying to achieve. The bill received [wide backing from](https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/113019.aspx?ref=theferret.scot) a range of organisations including the [Scottish Trades Union Congress](https://www.parliament.scot/S5%5FLocal%5FGov/Inquiries/LGC%5FS5%5F19%5FPPFP%5F04%5FSTUC.pdf?ref=theferret.scot), [Scouts Scotland](https://www.parliament.scot/S5%5FLocal%5FGov/LGC%5FS5%5F19%5FPPFP%5F13.pdf?ref=theferret.scot) and the [Young Women’s Movement](https://www.parliament.scot/S5%5FLocal%5FGov/General%20Documents/The%5FYoung%5FWomens%5FMovement.pdf?ref=theferret.scot). https://theferret.scot/audio-and-podcasts/the-ffs-show-podcast/ At the beginning of February last year Holyrood’s Local Government and Communities Committee, which is [led by](https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/99804.aspx?ref=theferret.scot) SNP member James Dornan, [refused to](https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/Committees/Report/LGC/2020/2/5/Stage-1-Report-on-the-Period-Products--Free-Provision---Scotland--Bill?ref=theferret.scot#Executive-Summary) give the bill its backing. The committee said that, “whilst commending the intent of the bill”, it could not support it due mainly to uncertainty over costs. The financial memorandum accompanying the bill, it said, estimated that the scheme would cost £9.7m a year but the Scottish Government’s own calculations put the annual price-tag more than double that at £24.1m. Of the committee’s seven members, five opposed the bill and two backed it. Of the five who opposed it, three – Dornan, Kenneth Gibson and Annabelle Ewing – are SNP members and two – Graham Simpson and Alexander Stewart – are members of the Conservative party. Following the committee’s report, SNP communities and local government secretary Aileen Campbell highlighted potential issues with the bill. She noted there were “grave concerns” over the cost of the scheme and was also [quoted](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/snp-government-criticised-over-tampon-21469707?ref=theferret.scot) as questioning whether people living outside Scotland may seek to access the products to sell at a discount elsewhere. When the bill had its first reading in parliament later in February 2020 it received [near-unanimous cross-party](https://beta.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/debates-and-questions/s5/meeting-of-the-parliament/25-february-2020-12536?ref=theferret.scot#113310) support. No members opposed it and Dornan was the only abstention. During the debate he [repeated the](https://www.theyworkforyou.com/sp/?id=2020-02-25.4.0&p=13982&ref=theferret.scot) committee’s stance of supporting the intentions of the bill while voicing concerns about how much it would cost to implement. Ewing and Campbell voted in favour of the bill and Gibson was not present in the chamber. A number of [amendments](https://spice-spotlight.scot/2020/11/19/period-products-free-provision-scotland-bill-the-story-so-far/?ref=theferret.scot) were made to simplify the bill following the February vote. The aim was to give local authorities greater autonomy over how the scheme should be implemented as well as giving [greater clarity around](https://beta.parliament.scot/-/media/files/legislation/bills/current-bills/period-products-free-provision-scotland-bill/stage-3/revised-financial-memorandum-period-products-free-provision-scotland-bill.pdf?ref=theferret.scot) costs. Following the amendments, the bill received the [full backing of](https://beta.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/debates-and-questions/s5/meeting-of-the-parliament/24-november-2020-12962?ref=theferret.scot#117191) parliament in November 2020\. The bill was enacted into law in January. ### **Ferret Fact Service Verdict: Half True** The Period Poverty Bill was not introduced to parliament by the SNP – Labour’s Monica Lennon was responsible for introducing and amending it. It is misleading for the party to suggest its government was behind the implementation of the law. However, the party did not oppose the bill at any stage. Three SNP MSPs on the Local Government and Communities Committee initially rejected the bill due to concerns over cost. Once the bill was amended it passed into law with the unanimous cross-party support of the parliament. ![This claim is half true.](https://theferret.scot/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/FFS_Scale_3HalfTrue.png) *Photo thanks to Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament*.