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SNP ministers have claimed plans to give women free period products could lead to tampon raids from across the border.

The Government raised the “absurd” fear when it criticised Labour proposals to tackle period poverty.

They also suggested the scheme could lead to sanitary items being snatched and flogged at a “discount” rate outside Scotland.

Monica Lennon, the MSP behind the Bill, said: “There’s no evidence of free products being abused and people only take what they need.

“If we can provide free access to period products in the Scottish Parliament and in Scottish Government buildings, why not provide that safety net in our communities?”

Under the Bill, a legal duty would be placed on the Scottish Government to develop a universal scheme for free period products.

Schools, colleges and universities would also have to provide access in school and campus toilets.

(Image: Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament)

However, SNP Communities Cabinet Secretary Aileen Campbell said in a letter to a Holyrood committee that the Government had “grave concerns” over “deliverability” and cost.

She queried the £9.7m estimated cost and suggested the real figure could be as high as £24.1m.

Campbell also flagged up possible abuses of the scheme: “Preventing abuse may be costly and very difficult to deliver in practice. We can envisage that such a provision could be to prevent people outside Scotland seeking access to the products or people accessing them to sell at a discounted rate outside Scotland.”

She added that no consideration of the potential cost of enacting this provision was included in the Bill.

MSPs will vote on the plan this month and the SNP looks likely to oppose it.

Scots Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw, who is the favourite be crowned leader this week, has backed the Bill, which could mean the SNP is the only party that will vote against.

Nationalist opposition to the Lennon Bill has also triggered a backlash from party supporters who believe the SNP should reverse their position.

Lennon said: “Instead of obsessing over cross-border tampon raids and the occasional sanitary pad being stolen, SNP Ministers should support this Bill to ensure no one has to go without period products.

“Means testing women, girls and trans people who menstruate, or limiting free products to ‘low income groups” leads to stigma. 96% of respondents to the consultation on my Bill back a universal approach, something the Scottish Government used to believe in.”

(Image: On The Ball)

The ‘On The Ball’ campaign group, which has persuaded football clubs to offer free sanitary products, said: “It’s completely absurd that one of several weak arguments of the Scottish Government is the concern that people may come from outside of Scotland to take advantage of free period products and potentially sell these on.

“This is insulting and plays into the rhetoric that period products are a luxury and not a necessity.

"The idea that free period product provision will become a free-for-all is completely detached from reality and is damning for MSPs who vote to oppose the Bill in what claims to be a progressive Scotland."

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “In trying to determine the potential outcomes of the Bill if it becomes law, the Scottish Government must give due consideration to all the clauses it contains. This quite rightly includes the consideration of possible misuse of provision.

“This particular clause is just one of a number of areas in the Bill which we have concerns about. We remain concerned that at this time legislation is premature and the bill lacks clarity on purpose, costs and flexibility.

“Scotland remains a world leader in the provision of free period products to nearly half a million people through education and community settings.”