Parents are being forced to decide where to send their children to school based on which uniforms they can afford almost four years after the government vowed to tackle the issue.
Labour MP Lisa Forbes – who was elected during the Peterborough by-election in June – has accused ministers of “shirking responsibility” – saying they have failed parents “on the breadline”.
In 2015, then-chancellor George Osborne signed a deal promising to ban schools from insisting parents buy kit from a single – and often very expensive – supplier.
But four years after the government said it would put the rules into law in a bid to ensure “best value” for families, parents are still being asked to fork out hundreds of pounds on uniform from specific shops.
A survey by the Children’s Society last year found that on average, parents spent £340 on uniform for each of their children in state secondary schools and forked out £255 for each primary school child.
During a meeting of parliament’s education committee earlier this month, one mum told MPs she had ruled out sending her children to certain schools because of the cost of uniforms.
“There are some schools in our area where the uniforms are very overpriced,” Karen Rotheram said. “You are looking at £80 to £100 just for a blazer and a pair of trousers or something”.
Meanwhile, another mum suggested schools were trying to ensure they only had “posh kids” in their classes by insisting students wear uniform from certain suppliers.
When Forbes asked education minister Nick Gibb about the 2015 policy, she was told the government still intended to put it into force – but only “when a suitable legislative opportunity arises”.
“The government is shirking responsibility instead of keeping their own promise to act,” Forbes told HuffPost UK. “They have told me that they’re waiting for parliamentary time, but they’ve had more than enough time over the last four years.
“Quite simply, they have failed. Parents on the breadline have been left waiting long enough – now it’s time for action, not words.”
Labour’s shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said: “Time after time, I have pressed ministers to take action, but yet again we are going into a new school year with parents paying the price for their failure to act.
“The government pledged statutory guidance in 2015, yet we are now nearly four years and three prime ministers on and they are still hiding behind the pathetic excuse that they could not find parliamentary time.”
A department for education spokesperson said: “No school uniform should be so expensive that it causes pupils or their families to feel unable to apply to, or attend a school of their choice.
“Our guidance already states that schools should avoid single-supplier contracts for their uniforms and we have been clear that when there is a suitable time in parliament we intent to make this guidance statutory.”