Withdrawal of provision of school uniform grants

The unprecedented reduction in funding in recent years has put the City Council under acute financial pressure.   On top of £141 million saved in the last two years it has had to cut a further £32 million from its budget in 2013/14 and over the next four years it will have to save £149 million from a total spend of £480m.

The Council is continuing to review every aspect of its work and, inevitably, non-statutory functions have come under particular scrutiny. 
In previous years the Council has provided uniform grants of £20 for primary school pupils and £40 for secondary school pupils to families meeting specified low income criteria.   There is no statutory requirement for a Local Authority to award these grants and as part of the savings for 2013/14 the Council has decided to withdraw this provision.

Many parents will already be aware of the decision, which was consulted upon as part of the public consultation on the first tranche of 2013/14 budget options in October/November last year.

  
The City Council did not take the decision lightly and during its consideration Councillors asked schools to work collaboratively to try to mitigate the impact on the most vulnerable pupils.

Yours sincerely,
 
Linda Coady
Acting Service Manager - Strategic Planning
Children and Young People’s Service