Stephen spoke in Parliament on Friday in support of Mike Amesbury’s Private Member’s Bill, which requires the government to publish statutory guidelines on how schools should design and implement a uniform policy. The bill passed unanimously onto its second reading today.
Charities such as the Children’s Society have found that school uniforms are often prohibitively expensive, costing on average £337 per year for a secondary school child and £315 per year for a primary school child, with 1 in 10 families reporting getting into debt trying to pay uniform costs. The bill intends to ensure that all uniforms are made affordable, by requiring that the government draft new statutory guidelines for all school uniform policy to ensure that schools prioritise cost and affordability.
Stephen commented afterwards:“I am delighted to see cross-party support for Mike’s Private Member's Bill to improve the affordability of school uniforms by requiring the Government to implement new statutory guidelines for all school uniform policy. I hope that the government will consider putting a top rate cap on the price of uniforms.
School Uniforms are an important part of a child’s education and help to engender a healthy sense of school pride and unity; this bill will ensure that this privilege is affordable for all.”
The bill has received both cross-party support from Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative backbenchers alongside the government. It has also received the support of over 20 notable organisations, such as The Children’s Society, CPAG and the Trussell Trust.