​OPFS was the only Scottish charity to benefit.

One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS) is set to expand its services, offering free support and counselling for single parents after it received a £1.5 million funding award from the Tampon Tax Fund.

OPFS, which provides information, advice and family support, is the only Scottish organisation to receive funding.

According to the charity, there are 190,000 single parents in Scotland and over 90% of these are women that face significant challenges, resulting from low income, stigma, inequality, and poor health.

Single parents face the unique challenge of being both sole carer and the main source of income, often an impossible balancing act.

The Tampon Tax Fund will enable the charity to recruit qualified counsellors and senior management staff to offer free support and advice for those most in need. The aim of the counselling is to allow single parents to better manage their mental health and minimise the impact on their wellbeing.

Cash comes from a £15m fund raised through taxes on tampons, administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Satwat Rehman, director at OPFS, said: “Single parents face several challenges on a day-to-day basis and there is a huge demand for our services across Scotland to provide specialist support to encourage and enable them to engage with services.

“The funding from the Tampon Tax Fund will be crucial in enabling us to realise our ambition of a Scotland in which all families, without exception, can prosper from life’s opportunities.”

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.”