Author: Pulse Assent

Thousands of women from across the UK will benefit from £15 million from the latest round of the Tampon Tax Fund, the Minister for Sport and Civil Society Tracey Crouch announced today.

Projects that tackle sexual violence, address social exclusion among BAME women and improve mental health and wellbeing will receive funding over the next two years. The money will also be used to make grants to smaller organisations so they can deploy services that support the most vulnerable and disadvantaged women and girls in the country.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said:

The money generated from sanitary products is being invested in good causes that tackle the serious issues that women of all ages face. It will be used to support vulnerable women and girls and help build a Britain fit for the future.

The ten projects receiving funding from this round of the Tampon Tax are:

UK Community Foundations £3,400,000 – The Tribewoman project will support vulnerable and excluded women by making onward grants to smaller charities across the UK

Arhag Housing Association £1,040,000 – The BME Women Hub project will alleviate poverty and social exclusion among women in England

Brook Young People £1,500,000 – The ‘Let’s Talk. Period.’ project will aim to address period poverty in England.

Rape Crisis England & Wales £1,400,000 – This digital transformation project is a new approach to tackling sexual violence delivered through member Rape Crisis Centres In England

Women’s Aid Federation of England £1,509,850 – The ‘Ask Me’ project will improve the community response to domestic abuse across the UK and includes onward grants opportunities

Hestia Housing and Support £1,000,000 – The ‘Tools for the Job’ pilot project aims to transform the way that employers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland deal with domestic abuse, by improving their HR policies and delivering awareness raising for staff.

The RCJ & Islington Citizens Advice Bureaux £1,090,488 – The FLOWS project will provide online-tools to improve the capacity of front-line domestic-violence agencies in England to provide legal support to women and children

Mind £1,785,554 – This project will increase the provision of mental health peer support for women experiencing, and at risk of, mental health problems and includes onward grant programme in England and Wales

St. Giles Trust £1,077,158 – The ‘Footsteps’ project aims to improve service provision to women in the Criminal Justice System in England with mental health and complex support needs

One Parent Families Scotland £1,049,590 – This Scotland only project will offer a free support and counselling service for the most disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalised women most in need.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

1) Over 70 charities are already receiving grants through previous rounds of the fund, with a total of £32m of funding having been announced since Autumn Statement 2015. This latest funding brings the total investment awarded from the Tampon Tax Fund to £47m.

2) 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%).

A welfare code for meat chickens has been updated today as part of a programme of reforms to safeguard and enhance the welfare of animals.

Strengthened statutory guidance is now in place for meat chicken keepers on how to meet the needs of their animals and improve their welfare.

This welfare code has been updated to reflect the very latest advice from vets and animal husbandry developments, as part of a programme of reforms to safeguard and enhance the welfare of animals, the Minister for animal welfare, Lord Gardiner announced today.

Minister for Animal welfare Lord Gardiner said:

We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and are going further in a number of areas, including by raising maximum sentences for animal cruelty to five years and introducing mandatory CCTV in abattoirs.

This code was carefully consulted on with industry experts, and uses the most recent scientific and veterinary advice to ensure this clear guidance provides the best advice to owners and keepers to help ensure and enhance the high welfare standards of their animals.

The updated meat chicken code incorporates guidance to reflect new regulations in force since publication of the previous code, including:

• Specific provisions on staff training
• Stocking density, and
• Follow-up at slaughterhouses

Máire Burnett, Technical Director from British Poultry Council, said:

We welcome the new statutory code of practice for welfare of meat chickens and meat breeding chickens that reflects the high welfare standards followed by British poultry meat farmers, breeders and veterinarians. The new code is intended to help all those who care for meat chickens and meat breeding chickens to practise good biosecurity and maintain welfare standards required to comply with legislation.

The British poultry meat sector is committed to continuous improvement and will carry on following welfare science as it progresses. We look forward to continue working with Defra to further enhance welfare codes for turkeys and ducks to reflect industry best practice.

The updated code also provides more detailed guidance on biosecurity, leg health and enriching the environment for chickens.

The code will be used by enforcement bodies including Animal and Plant Health Agency inspectors and local authorities when investigating allegations of poor welfare to look at whether animal welfare standards are being met.