FOI_25-145 Menstruation products provided to staff and students
Date of response: 16 May 2025
We have now considered your request of 09 May 2025 for the following information:
Question 1. Does your institution provide free period products to students?
Our response:
Yes.
Question 2. Does your institution provide free period products to staff?
Our response:
No. We do not provide free menstruation/sanitary products to staff.
Question 3. How much does your institution spend per year on providing free period products?
Our response:
2022 - £3,544.08
2024 - £2,898.00
2025 (as of the date of your request) - £957.00
The figures provided above are for the invoices received in each of the three calendar years, for the provision of menstruation/sanitary products for students. The amount is slightly higher in 2022 as we also purchased dispensers for sanitary products in this year.
Question 4. Do you measure the update/impact of this scheme? If so, what have been your results?
Our response:
No. The University does not measure the update/impact of any scheme to provide free menstruation/sanitary products.
Question 5. Can you tell us anything further about your work to provide free period products on campus?
Our response:
On this occasion it is not possible to provide any of the requested information. In line with your rights under section 1(1)(a) of the Act to be informed whether information is held, we confirm that the University does not hold any recorded information for any further information about the University’s work to provide free period products on campus.
Sanitary products are also provided by the Union of UEA Students Limited (the ‘Union’) and the Union may hold some information on their work to provide free products on campus. The Union is a separate legal body from the University and is therefore a separate data controller for the purposes of the Act. Therefore, any relevant information which may be held by the Union would be held solely for their purposes and not on behalf of, or by, the University.
We would recommend that you contact the Union directly to obtain this information. However, be aware that the Union is not a public authority and therefore not subject to Freedom of Information Act, so there is no legal obligation on their part to provide the requested information.