Free period product provision in prisons and secure care centres: FOI release

Information requested

Are free products available within prison settings and secure care units across Scotland, if so how are these products accessed and is data on how utilised these are captured? If not, is this a policy decision to not provide this?

When responding to your request, I have interpreted “prison settings” to mean prisons in Scotland.

Response

Secure Accommodation

There are four secure care centres in Scotland: Good Shepherd Centre, Kibble Safe Centre, Rossie Secure Accommodation Services, and St Mary’s Kenmure.

All four secure care centres provide period products free of charge. A range of products are available to children, staff and visitors. Access for children is managed in accordance with individual risk management plans.

Prisons in Scotland

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. There are seventeen operational prisons located across Scotland.

Free sanitary products are made available to those in the care of the SPS. These products areprovided by SPS staff as and when required.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. The information we do not have is data on how utilised free period products are in secure accommodation centres and prisons in Scotland. This is because such information is not routinely collated by the Scottish Government or SPS.

This is therefore a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.