Period Products (Free Provision) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022

Additional duties on specified public service bodies and departments

Statement on arrangements

6.—(1) Each specified public service body—

(a) must, as soon as reasonably practicable after guidance is first published under section 5(1); and

(b) may, at any other time,

prepare a written statement.

(2) Before preparing a written statement, each specified public service body—

(a) must consult such product users who are likely to be in the premises of the specified public service body as the body thinks appropriate; and

(b) may consult any other body or person the body thinks appropriate,

about the specified public service body’s exercise, or proposed exercise, of the functions conferred on it by section 2.

(3) Consultation under subsection (2) must in particular include consultation—

(a) about the ways in which product users ought to be able to obtain period products free of charge;

(b) about the locations in the specified public service body’s premises in which period products ought to be obtainable free of charge; and

(c) about the types of period products which ought to be obtainable free of charge.

(4) Consultation under subsection (2) must have regard to—

(a) the dignity, privacy and confidentiality of product users; and

(b) articles which are reusable.

(5) The specified public service body’s written statement must describe—

(a) the consultation conducted under subsections (2) and (3);

(b) the arrangements mentioned in section 3;

(c) how, in developing those arrangements, the body has had regard to—

(i) the guidance published under section 5(1) (as that guidance relates to the body); and

(ii) the consultation conducted by the body under subsections (2) and (3).

(6) A statement prepared under subsection (1) may include such other information as the body thinks appropriate.

(7) The specified public service body must publish each statement prepared under subsection (1) in such ways as the body thinks appropriate.

(8) In this section, “product users” means persons who need to use period products, or may need to use period products in the future.

Duty to publish information

7.—(1) Each department must publish information about the locations where free period products are available in such ways as they think appropriate to bring that information to the attention of persons who need to use period products or may need to use period products in the future.

(2) Each department must do so—

(a) within one year of making regulations under section 2; and

(b) on at least an annual basis thereafter.

(3) A department may publish the information specified in subsection (1) jointly with another department.