Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the timetable for implementing the commitment in their 2015 report A better deal: boosting competition to bring down bills for families and firms to put best practice guidance for school uniform supply in England on a statutory footing.

It is for the governing body of a school (or in the case of academies, the academy trust) to decide rules relating to appearance, including whether there should be a school uniform, what it will be and how it should be sourced.

No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply to, or attend, a school of their choice. The Department’s best-practice guidance advises schools that they should give the highest priority to cost considerations and achieving value for money for parents.

The Department intends to put the school uniform guidance on a statutory footing when a suitable opportunity arises.

The Department’s guidance is attached and is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform.