Council axes £1.3m from school uniform scheme after Reform takeover
‘This is the remit of Westminster, not Wakefield’
Councillors in Wakefield have voted in favour of cutting a school uniform fund by £1.3m.
The Reform UK-led authority announced earlier this month that support would be available only to “those who need it most”, including children eligible for free school meals and families experiencing hardship.
The new scheme is expected to cost about £700,000 and replaces a £2m scheme approved by the previous Labour administration to provide all school children with free uniform vouchers.
Eligible families will be offered £30 per child under the revised plans.
Reform councillors unanimously voted in favour of rejecting a proposal, put forward by Liberal Democrat councillor Rachel Speak, to reinstate the previous scheme.
Coun Speak, who represents Knottingley ward, told a full council meeting : “My concern is that many families who are struggling every day will now be left behind.
“Many people working full time on minimum wage are really struggling.
“The reality is that most families live to their means. They budget around the income they have but over the past few years everyone has been hit hard by the cost of living crisis.
Coun Speak she had seen the hardship suffered by residents in her ward during her work at Ferrybridge Community Centre.
Matthew Caton, the council’s cabinet member for children and young people, defended the new policy as he spoke against the motion.
He said: “This was a naked bribe by the previous administration in its dying gasps.
“It is not the remit of a local authority to provide school uniforms.
“If it was, why did (Labour) wait half a century to suddenly put this scheme forward?
“It was desperation. It was toying with the residents of this district.”
Coun Caton said the authority planned to work with uniform banks and schools in the district to ensure those eligible received support.
He added: “We have made a pragmatic choice that these uniform vouchers will go to the families that are most in need.
“It is on a case by case basis. It is not for the bureaucrats in Wakefield to make those decisions.
“The people who are in the best place to make those decisions are the schools on the ground.
“If you are in genuine financial difficulty, there should be no hesitation to reach out.”
Coun Caton described the price of branded school uniforms as “shocking” but said it was a “national issue”.
He added: “This is the remit of Westminster, not Wakefield.”