A bid to save parents up to £340 in school uniforms came one step closer to becoming law on Friday- despite backbench Tory efforts to delay it.
The Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Bill was introduced by Labour MP Mike Amesbury in February last year following a successful campaign by the Sunday People.
After passing its third reading in the Commons it now goes to the House of Lords to be debated, where Government support means it is expected to pass.
If it becomes law, schools will be told they can specify basic items such as trousers and shirts - but not styles.
This means parents can buy cheaper supermarket kit instead of branded gear from a single supplier that cost an average £340 a year for secondary schools and £255 for primaries.
Mr Amesbury said: “This is another milestone and I want to thank the Children’s Society and others for their campaigning work, which resulted in the Government finding time for the Bill to progress.”
The Amesbury MP continued: “I am absolutely pro school uniforms. They are a great social leveller and can work out cheaper as children are less pressured to wear the latest designer clothes.
“However, current school uniform policies are failing young people, who can face isolation and even exclusion for not being able to afford the ‘right’ clothes.
“We must not force parents to choose between putting food on the table and buying their school’s expensive branded gear, especially when budgets are so tight due to the impact of the pandemic.”
Schools minister Nick Gibb said the Government “wholeheartedly” supports the legislation.
He said: “It is designed to ensure the costs of school uniforms are reasonable and that schools secure the best value for parents.”
Mark Russell, chief executive of The Children’s Society, said: “Expensive school uniforms have long been a burden for low-income families.
“Last year we estimated that around a million families had cut back on food and other essentials to cover the costs.
“We are therefore delighted the Bill has gone through and fairer priced school uniforms are closer to becoming a reality.
A group of Conservative MPs tabled 16 amendments to the Bill, which left Labour sources fearing a deliberate bid to kill the bill by talking it out. But after speaking for 89 minutes former minister Sir Christopher Chope withdrew his amendments and the Bill continued its journey towards becoming a law.
Another backbench Tory Philip Davies spoke for 44 minutes, said scrapping VAT on all school uniform items would be a “ Brexit dividend” for parents and get rid of a “stealth tax”.
Labour MP Emma Hardy criticised the Tory amendments.
She told the Commons: “Politics is not a game, but then I also cannot understand the level of self-importance any individual would have to believe they had something of value to speak on for over an hour and a half.”
The length of the debate did mean other pieces of legislation from backbench MPs listed on the order paper are likely to have a wait another week before they are considered, including moves to bolster sentences for animal abusers.
