Ministers back bill aiming to cut school uniform costs

The government intends to back a bill from a Labour MP designed to cut the cost of school uniforms in England.

The legislation, drafted by Weaver Vale MP Mike Amesbury, would aim to strengthen existing guidance encouraging schools to keep down costs.

It could also force schools to keep compulsory branded items, like blazers, to a minimum.

An inquiry last year heard items like blazers embroidered with school logos can cost up to three times more.

The bill, whose details have yet to be finalised, will be debated in March and stands a much better chance of approval with government support.

The draft law has already received the backing of Tory MPs Huw Merriman and Kevin Hollinrake, as well as Lib Dem education spokesperson Layla Moran.

It is understood that Mr Amesbury's bill would aim to make government uniform guidance statutory, meaning schools would be legally required to follow it.

The government does not force English schools to have a uniform, but they are strongly encouraged to do so by the Department for Education.

Current guidance from 2013 encourages schools to opt for clothing available in supermarkets, and generally avoid having uniform supplied by a single company.

The move would bring the English school system into line with Wales, where new statutory guidance came into force in September last year.

Despite a pledge to do so first being made in 2015 under the premiership of David Cameron, the government has yet to introduce compulsory guidance in England.

Mr Amesbury told the Daily Mirror, which first reported the story, that the government's decision to back his bill was "absolutely brilliant".

He added: "It is a victory, though we're not quite there yet. We need to keep pushing to get it through Parliament."

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: "School uniforms should always be affordable and should not leave pupils or their families feeling that they cannot apply to a particular school.

"That is why we will be supporting the progress of this bill through Parliament, in order to make our guidance on the cost considerations for school uniform statutory at the earliest opportunity."

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson tweeted that he was "delighted" the government would support the bill, adding: "Uniforms should always be affordable and should never put families off applying to a particular school."

Last year, a Children's Society survey of 1,000 parents saw nearly one in six families blame uniform costs for having to cut back on food and other basic essentials.

A joint inquiry by Parliament's education and work and pensions committees last September also heard evidence that schools could cuts costs for parents by choosing to have non-branded uniforms.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, low-income families can claim support towards the cost of school uniforms. A similar scheme, based on whether pupils are eligible for free school meals, also exists in Wales.

Mr Amesbury will get the chance to introduce his bill after he topped a ballot allowing MPs to suggest ideas for new laws, known as private members' bills.

While only a small number of these bills have ever become law, some have effected significant change, including the abolition of the death penalty in 1965 and change to the abortion laws in 1967.

More recently, a 2019 private member's bill extended the availability of civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples.