Debate contribution: School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Peter Martin on 3 March 2025.

MLA

Mr Peter Martin

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

3 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4826489

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I, like others in the House, very much welcome the Bill this evening. I am a parent, so I know at first hand about the cost of school uniforms in general and, particularly, the cost of PE kit for our children. We have three children: two at primary school and one at a post-primary school. We, as a family, are in no doubt that, year-on-year, the cost of uniforms mounts up. Janet Ward, who is a mum and runs the ADHD hub in Newcastle, said that the Bill:

"is a very exciting thing to introduce, as a parent with two secondary school children".

I know how she feels, and I echo her comments. I assume that the Bill is supported across the Chamber. I welcome the fact that various issues have been highlighted, because that demonstrates how important this piece of blue paper is. It is legislation. It is what we are meant to be doing in the Chamber. It will have a positive effect for families across the Province. At the moment, boards of governors have the legal right and duty to decide on uniform policy. My party believes that school uniform is important as it provides a sense of identity and should level socio-economic backgrounds and unify a school through dress code. As other Members have said, a school uniform and its associated cost should never be a consideration when parents are deciding on the most appropriate school for their child. The Bill will ensure that that will never be a worry for parents. As the Minister said, the legislation will place a duty on the Department of Education to create clear guidelines for school uniform policy. The Bill also places a duty on schools to follow that policy. My colleague referenced the findings of the consultation, which, as the Minister mentioned, were overwhelmingly to make school uniforms affordable, comfortable and sustainable. Policy options were available in the consultation document, but the option outlined in the Bill is the one that will develop and deliver the best outcome for parents. Is there a time limit on the debate, Mr Deputy Speaker?

I will therefore take my full 45 minutes. Clause 2 addresses the unfair costs that parents have to pay. Clause 8 deals with the definition of those unfair costs. Without going into the legal meaning of the clause, I will say that it is about the conversations that parents have when they go into a shop and find out the cost of a blazer. Clause 7 provides the Department with the ability to direct schools to comply with the guidance. That process can be started by parents or by the ETI's inspection process and will effectively be as a result of non-compliance with the Department's guidance. As Members have said, clause 8 deals with what "unfair costs" means and the vexed question that the Member opposite asked about the limited choice of suppliers. Clause 9 addresses the expensive, branded items that can considerably raise the cost of uniforms, especially sportswear, as has been discussed. Other views may be available in the Chamber, but my view is that navy leggings are navy leggings, while white polo shirts are white polo shirts. Parents understand that. As the Bill progresses through its legislative stages, never before will navy leggings and white polo shirts have been discussed in the Assembly so much. My party has led the way on the issue. Four years ago, Peter Weir, the then Minister of Education, urged school principals to be flexible on uniform rules. That work was continued by the next Minister, Michelle McIlveen, who, in 2022, instructed Department of Education officials to implement guidelines requiring schools to make uniforms more affordable for families. She went on to increase the school uniform grant by 20%, which was as much as the Department of Education budget could bear at the time. After the guidelines were issued, many schools put in place a sensible school uniform policy, and I have experienced that as a parent. As with many other situations in life, however, there are always outliers. Hopefully, the legislation will close the gap. Furthermore, it will mean that schools will have to consult pupils and parents directly on their uniform policy and publish information about it. They will also have to provide a rationale for their policy. Early in the Assembly mandate, the current Education Minister, Paul Givan, said that he would introduce legislation on the issue. It is a credit to him that he has done so, and done so so quickly. Not every Minister could make that claim. I quote the Minister directly:

"I have listened to the concerns of parents, young people and children, and at a time of growing pressures on family budgets, I am extremely concerned that families are finding the cost of a school uniform a significant outlay, and that in some cases it deters them from applying for a particular school."

That is what the Bill should stop. Never again should any child or family in Northern Ireland face the prospect of having to choose a school on the basis of the cost of its uniform. These are not green or orange issues. They are not nationalist or unionist concerns. All families face them, regardless of their background.

The legislation will make a positive impact across all of our communities in Northern Ireland. The Bill, as my friend has mentioned, will ensure that this party fulfils the promise made in our manifesto to deal with the cost of school uniforms and the associated costs. The practical outworking of the legislation will mean that the final financial obstacles to school choice should be removed and that parents will no longer face that trip in the summer to buy next year's school uniform. I thoroughly commend the Bill to the House.

970 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:07 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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