Contract notice published as part of initiative to end period poverty in Scotland
The Glasgow based University of Strathclyde has published a Contract Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) seeking a supplier to provide it with sanitary products as part of a wider £5m scheme to combat period poverty introduced by The Scottish Government to introduce free sanitary provision available to all students at schools, colleges and universities across Scotland.The Notice, issued using the Open procedure, seeks to appoint a supplier capable of providing the following supplies to be delivered to different areas within the University's John Anderson campus;— Sanitary Pads Regular/Day,— Sanitary Pads Super/Night,— Non-applicator Tampons Regular,— Non-applicator Tampons Super.The scheme is aimed at helping banish the scourge of period poverty for Scotland’s 395,000 school pupils, college students and university students and is funded by The Scottish Government, the first government in the world to commit to make free sanitary products available to all pupils and students in its education system.The closing deadline for suppliers to bid to supply the University is 24th October 2018 at 12 noon with tender validity being held until 17th January 2019. Suppliers must be financially sound; be able to demonstrate an average yearly turnover of £200,000 per annum over the last 3 financial years; and, hold certain minimum levels of employers and public liability insurance.In a separate press release, Susannah Lane, Head of Public Affairs at Universities Scotland, said:
“It is unacceptable that anyone should suffer the embarrassment and distress caused by period poverty so we welcome free sanitary provision being made available in universities across Scotland. Periods are a part of life but they shouldn’t be a point of inequality, compromise someone’s quality of life or be a distraction from making the very most of time spent at university so this is a positive step.”
Image courtesy of Pixaby.com licensed under CC0 Creative Commons.In addition to the commitment for those in education, The Scottish Government is also providing targeted support for low income families. FareShare will receive more than £500,000 from the Scottish Government to distribute sanitary products to an estimated 18,800 people across Scotland.
