Scotland has become the first country in the world to provide universal access to free period products, building on the work of North Ayrshire which has been providing tampons and and sanitary towels in its public buildings since 2017.

The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act, passed unanimously on Tuesday, November 24, places a legal duty on local authorities to make period products available for all.

The vote followed a four-year campaign led by Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman, Monica Lennon, who said it was ‘a signal to the world that free universal access to period products can be achieved’.

She added: “Scotland will not be the last country to make period poverty history.”

Period poverty – the struggle to pay for basic sanitary products – has been a bad problem in Scotland for decades.

Joe Cullinane, leader of North Ayrshire Council (NAC), said: “Massive well done to Monica Lennon on an amazing campaign. We in [NAC] have been proud to support you by taking action to period products to our residents in schools and community settings.”

In 2017, NAC made period products available across its secondary schools - with over 13,000 products used by young women in the first year. The following year, NAC provided them in all public buildings.