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

Debate contribution by Mr Gerry Carroll on 13 October 2025.

MLA

Mr Gerry Carroll

Party at the time

People Before Profit Alliance

Date

13 October 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill: Final Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5175954

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Like many others, I feel that the Bill is a waste of an opportunity to take quick and meaningful action to make school uniforms more affordable. The fact that the Education Committee is considering its own Bill to strengthen the legislation is clear evidence of this Bill's weakness. I do not know whether that is unprecedented, but it is certainly unusual. Some modest proposals in the Bill may — I emphasise the word "may" — have positive impacts. Collecting and analysing data on the cost of school uniforms is worthwhile, but having information on just how extortionate school uniforms are and how quickly prices are rising will mean very little unless something is done to cut costs. The Bill will impose reporting duties, compelling schools to explain why uniforms cost the amount that they do, and it gives the Education Minister the power to cap prices at some future date, if he ever chooses to do so. In short, the Bill does very little to help the hundreds of thousands of families who are struggling here and now. Each year, families fork out hundreds of pounds before their child even starts the new school term. For families with multiple children, that goes into the thousands. Between blazers, jumpers, ties, PE kits and deals with specific suppliers, the cost of sending a child to school is eye-watering. That is before adding in the cost of school trips, meals, travel, technology and all the rest. Last year, a UK-wide report found that families spend upwards of £400 on secondary-school uniforms and nearly £300 on primary-school uniforms. When you take into account PE kits and the unnecessarily high number of branded items for many grammar schools, you see the true price is much higher. The current school uniform grant, at roughly £42 for a primary-school pupil and £67 for a post-primary-school pupil over the age of 15, covers only a fraction of that cost, leaving families having to fork out hundreds of pounds every year.

Last year's Parentkind survey found that 66% of families were worried about the cost of uniforms. Uniform costs were by far the source of most anxiety for parents, many of whom were forced to make unacceptable sacrifices just to send their kids to school. If you look at poverty levels, you will see that 41% of parents ration heating, 19% skip meals, and more than one in 10 takes out loans and credit cards to pay for school costs. Families are being put through unacceptable levels of stress and anxiety, and the worst part of it is this: it is entirely unnecessary. There is no need for expensive blazers or branded PE kits, which serve nobody and nothing except the bosses of the companies involved and the outdated sense of prestige that comes with a fancy uniform. I pay tribute to everybody in my constituency who challenges that, in fighting poverty and advocating for people ripped off by expensive uniforms and for those in poverty. The Executive should be ashamed that so many are in poverty and that that has become normalised. There are significant equality issues with uniform policies that the Bill fails to address. Members have mentioned that too many children with special educational needs and female, transgender and non-binary pupils are forced to wear uniforms that are not comfortable or suited to their specific needs, which is cruel. No child or young person should face barriers to education, whether they are related to cost or to accessibility. The state can and should intervene to curtail uniform costs. Although the Bill lays the groundwork for that intervention, I have no confidence that it will result in any meaningful change for families. I would be happy to be proved wrong.

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

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:28 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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