New rules to force schools to try and make school uniforms affordable are to be introduced at Stormont today, Education Minister Paul Givan has confirmed. It comes after three quarters of people backed plans to force schools to adopt "practical" school uniform policies that provide "value for money", following a public consultation.
The law would also give Stormont the power to set a fixed cap on uniform costs - the first of its kind in the UK - but the Minister suggested it's unlikely to be used immediately.
Mr Givan said the legislation to be introduced in the Assembly today will give "legal effect" to existing guidelines encouraging schools to keep uniforms and PE kits affordable.
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Ahead of his appearance in the Assembly, the Minister told The Nolan Show: "When I took up office this was actually one of the first issues people brought to me during the election campaign. It was a manifesto commitment that the DUP made, that we would introduce legislation to help address the costs of school uniforms.
"There's a number of mechanisms that we're seeking to take forward that will help do that. Ultimately, what we're trying to achieve is affordability when it comes to school uniforms and PE kits. It's a difficult time of year, every year, whenever it comes to school uniforms. I remember in my household - I'm one of five kids - we used to save up the tax stamp. We would have collected that and it would all have been used at around August time. It was a financial burden in our household when it came to it and it continues to be a financial strain on families when it comes to school uniform.
"I don't want any child to be put off going to any particular school because affordability is a question that some parents would have."
Mr Givan continued: "The majority of schools do follow the guidance that has been in place but that is advisory, it doesn't have legal force behind it. The majority of schools do follow the guidance on all of this but there are still examples where we believe there are concerns around affordability.
"Some of the detailed pleating that goes into even just a skirt, some of the detailed embroidery that is required, and that all adds to the cost. And then the multiple numbers of PE kits if you're involved in sport, in various sports you all need to get different kits.
"That came through very strongly in the consultation, so what we're trying to do is make sure that all schools follow the guidance that's in place to do that. To do that, we have to give it statutory underpinning and, so, the legislation that will be introduced today in the Assembly starts that process of giving legal effect to the guidance."
Explaining what the change would mean, he added: "It's one thing to say 'this is what we would like you to do' and another to say 'this is what you must do'. This will give legal force."
Asked about the possibility of a cap on costs being set by Stormont, he said: "Let's also take provision that, as a backstop, if this doesn't work the way I believe that it will then could then put in a cap that says 'this is the financial limit'. You now have a maximum that your school uniform and PE kits can cost.
"It is the first in the United Kingdom. A cap doesn't exist anywhere else. So there are legitimate questions as to how would it operate, how would we give effect to that, how can we monitor it, police it, and ensure that it works. We need to make sure that we would get that right before we introduce the detail around a cap. But I have taken the, I believe, prudent approach to say 'let's take the powers to implement it but we need to make sure that if we're going to do that, we need to get it right'."
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