BBC News NI
Branded school sports kits have driven up the cost of school uniform and “ruined the reputation” of sellers, a retailer has said.
Jan Buchanan told MLAs in Stormont’s Education Committee that many parents were now are paying more for their child’s physical education (PE) kit than they are for their uniform.
She was one of a number of retailers who gave evidence to the committee about proposed laws to limit the price of school uniforms.
One parent told BBC News NI that rising costs of uniforms made it “exceptionally difficult”.
As well as a maximum price limit, Education Minister Paul Givan also said that there could be a limit on the number of branded items, such as PE kits, a school could ask parents to buy.
The School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill is currently being scrutinised by the education committee.
Significant amount of money
Kerri Denvir has two children in primary school in Newtownabbey, County Antrim.
She told BBC News NI that items often need replaced throughout the year, and that costs were “going up, and up, and up”.
“They just don’t last and they’re growing out of them very quickly,” Ms Denvir said.
“They fall in the playground and get a hole in the joggers, and that’s another £20. You’re constantly having to replace things,” she said.
“Sometimes there will be a deal in August, but when you go in during the winter to replace it the price has gone up.
“It’s not two or three pounds, it’s a significant amount of money, and the cost goes up maybe £20 or £30 a year.”
‘Exceptionally difficult’
Tina Mellon, a single mother-of-three, said the rising cost of uniforms was “exceptionally difficult to manage”.
She told BBC News NI that her son, who is in primary school, requires a branded PE kit as well as his main school uniform.
“I feel many unbranded items would be just as acceptable, particularly for primary school children and most certainly for physical activity,” she said.
‘Northern Ireland falls short’
During the committee hearing on Wednesday, the retailers called for a three-year “window” before any new law took effect.
Alastair McCall from McCalls of Lisburn told MLAs that, otherwise, the new law could make “bankruptcies and mass redundancies a very real possibility”.
Francesca Cahillin from Truly Fare in Belfast told MLAs that the current school uniform grant for low-income families in Northern Ireland was much lower than in Wales or Scotland.
“By comparison Northern Ireland falls short,” she said.
Ms Buchanan from Warnock’s in Belfast said “school uniforms themselves haven’t actually changed, what has changed is the introduction of compulsory branded sports kits”.
“As you know these are provided exclusively by sports companies who’ve negotiated a monopoly on the supply of these items,” she said.
“Consequently, this has raised the price of uniforms as a whole, ruined the reputation and negatively impacted the small family businesses.”
Ms Buchanan gave an example of an unnamed school where she said the uniform cost £86.90 in total while the compulsory PE kit came to £198.70.
A consultation on the proposed new law attracted 7,500 responses, and many parents expressed opposition to schools requiring pupils to wear PE kit made by a particular brand.