Tampon Tax Fund boost for Derry group

70 groups across the UK are to share Â£12 million from the Tampon Tax Fund.

Foyle Women’s Aid will use the money - £210,604 in total - to take forward its ‘One Safe Place’ project which will see the regeneration a landmark historic building to provide 14 independent living accommodation units for victims of domestic abuse.

NI Secretary of State James Brokenshire, announcing details of the funding, hailed the Derry group’s work in “improving the lives of disadvantaged women.”

“The Fund,” he added, “supports our ambition to create a fairer, shared society for all of the UK.”

Another group to benefit from the fund is Autism NI which is to receive £69,000 to remove barriers to achievement for Autistic girls within home, school and community environments.

The British government says it 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. The British government currently applys the lowest rate we can to these products (5%).