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

Debate contribution by Mr Paul Givan on 3 March 2025.

MLA

Mr Paul Givan

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

3 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4826508

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank all Members who have participated in the debate. A number of Members spoke about the detail of the clauses, but some provided examples of the motivation behind what I am trying to achieve. Peter Martin spoke of being a father and the costs that he has. I have three girls in my house, and, come the end of the summer, the cost of purchasing school uniforms that has to be met is significant. I do not expect the public to have too much sympathy for a Minister in meeting those costs, but it is a real issue for a lot of families. I had two brothers and two sisters when I was growing up and regarded our family as working-class. We did not qualify for uniform grants or support of that nature, but we were very much a working-class family. I remember Mum regularly having to save up the family allowance that we received to try to meet the cost of purchasing the new shoes and school uniforms that we needed. It is a real financial challenge for a lot of families. That is why we are taking the Bill forward: it is about making a difference for families who struggle with the cost of school uniforms.

That drives the need for the legislation and is the reason why I brought the Bill forward. I know that, across the Chamber, we have points that we disagree on, but supporting families and making sure that school uniforms are affordable for all and are not a barrier for any child in the school that they attend are points that, I know, we can agree on. I welcome the effective scrutiny of the Bill. That is our role as elected representatives. Effective scrutiny will always support good legislation, and it is incumbent on all of us throughout the Chamber to make good legislation. We can debate the "mays" and the "musts", but let us do so from the reasonable perspective that everyone who is working on the matter has the same shared goal. I come back to our making a difference for struggling families. If you consider that a particular matter should be covered by the legislation and do not see the form of words that you expect, by all means ask me or my officials, and we will work with you to clarify and support the legislation. I remind you that the Bill has been professionally drafted in order to provide the necessary powers to ensure that the statutory guidelines have authority, which it does. I reiterate the fact that it is not the Bill's role to replicate those statutory guidelines. Michelle Guy asked this question: will it do what we want it to do? Reassurances have not been provided that every school is following the current guidance. Many schools are following the guidance, but there are those that are not. The Bill was introduced to make sure that the guidance works. I would not waste the Assembly's time bringing forward a tick-box exercise in legislation. The Bill has to have teeth and have an impact, and I am confident that it will. We talked today about capping the costs of school uniforms and the costs of branded PE kit in particular. We talked about the importance of children and young people's views and of parents having a meaningful say. The Bill contains all the necessary powers to address those matters. As I stated in my opening remarks, the Bill provides a power for the Department of Education to limit or cap the number of individual items of clothing or sets of clothing. That is in the reference, which I mentioned, to "specific styles". The term "specific styles" is defined and includes clothing "of particular makes or brands". That term is utilised throughout the Bill, including in the definition of "unfair costs aspects" and on what may be deemed reasonable for schools to require their pupils to wear. Additionally, the Bill provides a power for the costs of individual uniform items or costs of total uniform requirements to be capped. My officials are actively working on further details on how an effective cap could be set, monitored and managed. The correct powers in the legislation are needed now, including making sure that we do not set requirements that prevent us managing any unintended consequences that arise from any cap. As far as possible, we as legislators need to look to the future, and the Bill allows for that. It provides for clauses that are specific to a cap to come into operation via commencement orders. That means that further work on the detail of how a cap might operate can be taken forward in parallel with, but without delaying, the implementation of statutory guidelines. The Bill also provides the power to make regulations through the draft affirmative resolution process that will apply statutory guidelines to preschool providers, should that become necessary. I remind Members that statutory guidelines will also apply to independent and grant-aided primary and post-primary schools once the Bill comes into operation. The Bill delivers the policy proposals that were highly supported through the consultation process. It gives statutory effect to the departmental guidance and places a duty on relevant schools to adhere to that guidance. It provides a power of direction in the event of non-compliance, as well as specifically defining key terms that are to be addressed via a school uniform policy, such as "specific styles" and "unfair costs aspects". It provides access to a uniform grant for eligible pupils who attend independent schools.

All those actions, when taken together, will make an impact. I heard from some Members who suggested that the Bill does not go far enough to ensure compliance with policy. First, let me recognise that many schools work hard to reduce the costs of uniforms and have developed some innovative practices. I thank those schools for their work in that area. To other schools that may need further support to change practice should that be needed, the scrutiny period for the Bill does give them time to review their policies, placing affordability for parents at the centre. We will share case studies and examples of best practice that the Education and Training Inspectorate is developing, which will help those schools. Schools that are currently not doing what we want them to do, do not need to wait for the law to come into place to do the right thing. They can take action now, and they have the opportunity, as the legislation works its way through the Assembly, to put their own house in order. What is important is that no child is prevented from applying for a particular school because their parents cannot afford the uniform. Ultimately, the Department will have the powers, through the Bill, to direct schools to comply with the legislation. I am confident, however, that taking all the measures in the Bill and the subsequent guidelines will result in a reduction in the costs of uniforms. I know that every school wishes to do its best for children and young people. We move next to the Committee Stage, subject, of course, to the vote today. I thank Members for their remarks during the debate. The pace at which the legislation will now proceed will be determined by the Members of the Assembly and by the Committee for Education. I have carried out the consultation process. I have brought the legislation through the Executive, secured the appropriate support, commissioned the Office of the Legislative Counsel and introduced the legislation — and I sought to do that at pace. It is now a matter for the Assembly to decide how quickly it wishes to take this forward. The introduction and the Second Stage today will allow the Committee to carry out its work and the subsequent stages to be passed in the Assembly before the summer recess.

I am happy to give way.

Thank you. I suspected that there would be a good reason because I know that the Chairman of the Committee has an interest in this area, but thank you for putting that on record. I know that he will seek to carry out diligently the important scrutiny work without any undue delay. It is important that we get this right. I do not want to it to be rushed. I very much want to get it right, but I believe that the efficiency of the Assembly, its procedures and the Committee will allow the legislation to be passed before the summer recess. Its introduction and the Second Stage today will facilitate that within the normal time frames of the Assembly. The legislation is now a creature of the Assembly. I have introduced it. I will work diligently with and support the Committee, but the timing of its conclusion will be for the Assembly and its Members to determine. As you all scrutinise the Bill, I will make some final remarks. I remind Members that there is a clear interlinkage across the clauses, including where definitions are provided, and the balance between how a power is articulated in legal terms in the Bill and what that enables the statutory guidelines to address. Those are important points to think about as Members mull over any amendments that they would wish to make. The School Uniforms Bill delivers. It delivers the necessary powers to make statutory provision through the guidelines and delivers the key principles that were consulted on. It delivers the necessary powers to cap branded items and/or uniform costs. It delivers access to uniform grants to eligible pupils attending independent schools. It delivers, and I commend the School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill to the House.

1,619 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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