Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of how much parents spend on average on school uniform, per (a) primary and (b) secondary pupil in the state-maintained sector each year.

The Department commissioned the Cost of School Uniform report in 2015: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/436576/RR474_Cost_of_school_uniform.pdf. This report found that the average expenditure for a school uniform at primary school was £192.14 for boys and £201.04 for girls. For secondary pupils, the average costs were £231.01 for boys and £239.93 for girls.

No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply to the school of their choice. The Government is supporting the current Private Members' Bill (Guidance about the Cost of School Uniform) which was introduced to Parliament on 5 February 2021, to make our guidance on the cost considerations for school uniform statutory.