£400,000 Cash Injection For School Clothing Budget (Leeds Liberal Democrats)

Leeds Liberal Democrats <info@leedslibdems.org.uk>

£400,000 Cash Injection For School Clothing Budget

August 1, 2006 9:56 PM

Thousands of cheques for parents with children who are eligible for school clothing allowances will be landing on their doormats next week in time for 17,700 children to benefit for the new school year.

The move follows a decision taken by Leeds City Council to increase its budget for school clothing allowances by £400,000.

The proposal will ensure that eligible parents with children in primary school will continue to receive annual payments of £20, and for secondary school children up to year 11, £30, to help pay for their school uniforms.

The council has also agreed to have an increased rate of £27.50 for children in reception and £37.50 for year 7 pupils, to recognise the additional costs involved when starting school for the first time or moving from primary to secondary.

The decision replaces the earlier agreement to reduce the number of families eligible for school clothing support.

Leader of Leeds City Council, Councillor Mark Harris (Lib Dem, Moortown) said:

"This decision demonstrates that the city council listens to feedback and is prepared to act when needed.

"We have listened to the people of Leeds and understand that there is widespread support for a school clothing allowance for children in all school years from reception to year 11 and that is what we have agreed to provide.

"Leeds is one of just a few local authorities in the country which provides allowances for school clothing and we will ensure that this benefit is protected and maintained.

"Having decided to retain the scheme, we realised the one we inherited was inadequate as there had been no increase in the allowance since 1992.

"Because of this we have increased the amount parents will receive and have replaced the vouchers - which were only exchangeable in certain shops - with payments made directly into parents' bank accounts. This will allow parents to shop around and get the maximum benefit from the money.

"We have worked hard to get a revised scheme implemented as a matter of urgency to ensure that the payments are issued in good time to allow parents to prepare for the new school year."

The council has agreed to implement the following scheme:

To pay qualifying parents as follows:

£27.50 for reception class

£20 for years 1-6

£37.50 for year 7

£30 for years 8-11

This scheme retains the council's commitment to increase payments for reception class and year 7 pupils and reinstates the 2005/06 scheme for most other years with the exception of year 6. The year 6 payment will now be harmonised with the values for years 1 to 5.

The extra payment for year 6 was historic and recognised the old three-tier school system that saw pupils move to 'middle' school. This system no longer applies and harmonising payments in this way provides a consistent scheme that targets extra resource at times when children are changing school.