To ask the Minister of Education whether he plans to increase the school uniform grant for 2024-25.

Mr Givan

The school uniform grant is available to offer financial support to low-income families as a contribution towards the costs of school uniforms. The Education Authority was able to uplift its school uniform grant rate by 20% in 2022-23 following an additional allocation of funding by the previous Minister of Education. Severe budgetary pressures mean that it has not been possible to allocate additional funding to the Education Authority to implement a further rise in the rate of the uniform grant for the 2024-25 academic year. I recognise that higher rates of uniform grant are available in other parts of the United Kingdom. I would obviously like to be able to allocate additional funding to the Education Authority that would enable a rise in the uniform grant. However, that can only be done when the funding is available to do so. While recognising that the rate of the uniform grant is one way to reduce the impact of uniform costs on low-income families, I believe that schools seeking to minimise the costs of their uniform can potentially be of even greater benefit. Schools should therefore endeavour to align their school uniform requirements with the Department's guidance circular that encourages them to keep school uniform costs to a minimum.

Mr Givan

The Member rightly raises my desire to address the issue. On the matter of placing the current guidance on a statutory footing, I have engaged with schools through letters to principals reminding them of the circular and appealing to them to follow it. The overwhelming majority of schools follow that guidance, but we need all schools to follow it. A public consultation will be launched within weeks, before the end of this period of the Assembly's timetable — before it breaks for the recess. That will seek the public's views on placing it on a statutory footing. As part of that, we will also seek views on a cost cap.

Mr O'Toole

Minister, three months ago, the Assembly debated a motion that called for many of the actions that you are now talking about. Can you be specific? You said that the consultation will be launched, hopefully, before recess. Can you give a timeline for when you want the guidance to be put into statute? Will it be by the end of this year or the end of the mandate? When, precisely?

Mr Givan

Obviously, I will not be able to have the guidance placed on a statutory footing for this September. Many schools have already engaged with retailers and the supply chain. We will not, therefore, be able to do that. However, I was able to remind schools to follow the guidance, and the overwhelming majority are doing that. I want to have it on a statutory footing for the commencement of the following academic year, so that there is a statutory basis for it. Of course, we need to work out how to monitor that and what role, potentially, the inspectorate could have in ensuring that the legislation passed by the House is given effect. It is one thing to place something on a statutory footing; it is another thing to monitor and, ultimately, enforce that. How you do that and what the sanction would be are things that need to be worked out as part of the consultation process and then the legislative process, when the Bill is introduced to the Assembly.

Mr Brooks

The Minister mentioned the rates elsewhere in the UK and said that, in some places, the rates are higher. Can he give any further details on how the rate here compares with other parts of the UK and the Republic of Ireland?

Mr Givan

On comparators, in England, many local authorities do not offer uniform grants, and, for those that do, there can be considerable variation in the level of support. It can vary from £30 to £160. In Scotland, there is a minimum level uniform grant of £120 per child at primary school and £150 per child at post-primary level. Wales has a school essentials grant that is aimed towards supporting parents with uniform costs but also costs for sports kits and IT equipment. That is £125 per pupil or £200 for pupils in post-primary. A range of support measures exists. There is no uniform approach — pardon the pun — in how the costs are calculated and what the payments go towards. We have our own scheme. It was a DUP Education Minister who increased it by 20%. It had stood still for nearly a decade with no increase, until my predecessor, Michelle McIlveen, addressed the issue. I have indicated my desire to do more, but it requires the Department of Education to have the resources available to it for us to do more.