Charities across the UK benefit from Tampon Tax Fund

30 Mar 2017 11:33 AM

Seventy organisations across the country will share £12 million from the Tampon Tax Fund helping to improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls across the country.

Visiting the Suzy Lamplugh Trust in South London that is to receive £200,000, Rob Wilson announced the full list of funding for charities from the latest round of the Tampon Tax Fund designed to benefit charities that support women and girls, particularly those affected by violence and domestic abuse.

Minister for Civil Society Rob Wilson said:

From Cornwall to Dundee, the Tampon Tax Fund continues to benefit organisations in every corner of the UK working to improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls, including those who’ve been affected by violence.

This Fund is helping to improve lives, supporting our ambition to create a fairer, shared society for everyone. I’m glad that so many worthwhile organisations will benefit from this money.

Minister for Vulnerability, Safeguarding and Countering Extremism Sarah Newton said:

Violence against women and girls shatters lives and these projects will provide even more vital support to victims.

The Government is determined to end this abhorrent abuse and recently announced the introduction of stalking protection orders, set out plans to work towards a new Domestic Violence and Abuse Act and increased funding for tackling violence against women and girls to £100 million. But there is always more to do and the additional tampon tax money will provide a further lifeline to those at risk of domestic and sexual abuse, so-called ‘honour-based’ violence and stalking.

Some of the charities receiving funding include:

• Children North East £88,939. The funding will be used to support a peer mentoring service for vulnerable young girls who are affected by, or at risk of violence or abuse.
• Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre Cornwall £179,157. This money will be used to support relationships with isolated, hard to reach survivors of sexual violence and abuse.
• Black Country Women’s Aid £240,401. This will be used to fund a pilot project to develop the first specialist support service for victims of stalking.
• Stepping Stones, Luton £262,614. This money will ensure access to specialist support for 300 vulnerable women facing domestic and sexual abuse.
• Suzy Lamplugh Trust, London £200,000. This funding will help increase the organisation’s casework support service for women who are being stalked.

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Notes to Editors

1. See the full list (MS Word Document, 22.9KB) of 70 organisations set to benefit from the latest round of funding.
2. This latest funding brings the total of investment awarded from the Tampon Tax Fund to £15m in 2016 / 17.
3. The government is committed to continuing the fund until EU rules allow a zero rate of VAT to be applied to women’s sanitary products. A decision will be made on the future of the Fund once this has been achieved. Current EU laws prohibits any Member State from applying a new zero rate of VAT. We therefore currently apply the lowest rate we can to these products (5%).