Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure schools do not require uniforms to be bought from specialist providers.

The Department for Education’s school uniform guidance is clear that any items of uniform should be widely available and affordable for parents. The guidance sets out that exclusive single supplier contracts should be avoided except where regular tendering competitions are run. It also makes clear that governing bodies should be able to demonstrate that they have obtained the best value for money from suppliers and that any savings negotiated with suppliers should be passed on to parents wherever possible.

The school uniform guidance is published online at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform

Ministers will keep this issue under close review.