Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an estimate of average savings to parents of buying school uniforms from a shop rather than a school or a designated supplier.

In 2015, the Department published a report on the cost of school uniforms, which included data on the average cost of buying items of school uniform when they could be purchased from a range of retailers, compared to when items are restricted to purchase at a school or designated supplier. This showed that most items tended to be substantially cheaper when they could be purchased from a range of retailers. The report is accessible at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/436576/RR474_Cost_of_school_uniform.pdf. This is why the Department’s 2021 statutory guidance on the cost of school uniform requires schools to keep branded items to a minimum, enabling parents to purchase generic items of uniform from a range of retailers. The guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms.

The Department has not made a recent assessment of the average savings to parents of buying school uniforms from a shop rather than a school or designated supplier.