Debate contribution: School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill: Extension of Committee Stage
Debate contribution by Mr Colin Crawford on .
- MLA
- Mr Colin Crawford
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 7 April 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Committee Business
- Heading
- School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill: Extension of Committee Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4891138
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The Bill has the potential to make a real and meaningful difference to the lives of children and young people and their families across Northern Ireland. It is designed to address a growing and deeply felt issue in our communities: the escalating cost of school uniforms. The Bill has one clear and simple objective: to make school uniforms more affordable. That should not be controversial or complicated, but it should be given the diligence that it deserves. The cost of school uniforms has become a growing burden for families, particularly in the current economic climate. As Members, we have all heard from parents who are struggling to meet the rising costs of blazers, sports kits and branded uniforms that, often, are mandated with little regard for affordability. These are not luxuries or optional extras; they are basic, essential requirements for access to education. When a parent is forced to choose between buying a winter coat or a school jumper, that is a political failure. When families are turning to food banks so that they can cover the cost of uniforms, that is a societal failure. When the Chamber has the power to act but fails to do so, that is a legislative failure. Members will be aware that this is not the first time that the House has failed. Let us be honest with ourselves and the public: as the Chair alluded to, over the past 10 years, the Assembly has spent more time collapsed than it has spent legislating. That is a damning indictment of political dysfunction, and it is our constituents — the very people whom we represent — who have paid the price. During the years of impasse, key legislation was stalled, opportunities were lost and vital decisions were left unmade. For too long, we have expected the public to carry on while we have stood still. Now, with Stormont restored, the public rightly expect us to get on with the job at hand. I understand the importance of due process and the need to hear from stakeholders. Like the Chair and other Committee members, I commit to doing all that I can, even over the summer recess, and playing my part to ensure that that takes place. Let us work collectively, across party lines, to progress the Committee Stage of the Bill. Let us show that the Assembly can function as it should: not just as a debating Chamber but as a vehicle for real change.
410 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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