Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of section 23 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill on small businesses that provide school uniforms.

School uniforms play a valuable role in creating a sense of common identity among pupils and reducing visible inequalities, however, too many schools require high numbers of branded uniform items which creates cost pressures for too many families. This is why the department has introduced legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and physical education (PE) kit that schools can require, to bring down costs for parents and remove barriers from children accessing sport and other school activities. This will give parents more choice in where to purchase non-branded items of uniform and allow them greater flexibility to make the spending decisions that suit their circumstances.

The department has considered the impact on small businesses, including by talking to partners in the sector, and recognises that it is likely that this measure will reduce demand for branded items offered by small businesses.

We know that these businesses have a valuable place in the uniform sector, bringing benefits such as providing year-round guaranteed supply, a diversity of sizes and specialist advice to schools and parents. For these reasons, we expect many parents will continue to buy non-branded uniform from such businesses. Specialist suppliers will still be able to offer optional branded items alongside generic options.

School uniforms should be designed to make children smarter not families poorer. Our data suggests that where parents can buy items from a range of suppliers the average cost of uniform is significantly lower.