Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with schools on the effectiveness of the three-item cap on branded uniform.

Whilst many schools are taking action to reduce costs, too many families still tell us that the cost of school uniform remains a financial burden. ​This is why we have introduced legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and PE kit that schools can require.

When determining the level at which to set the limit, we considered the available evidence and engaged with a range of stakeholders, including schools, to ensure we struck the right balance between reducing costs for parents and recognising the benefits that some branded items can bring to school life.

The majority of primary schools, and nearly a third of secondary schools, already successfully operate within the proposed limit. It is therefore right that schools currently asking for large numbers of compulsory branded items are required to remove them.