School Clothing in Scotland Research Brief

Summary and main findings
1. Twelve of the 32 local authorities automatically pay school clothing grant to families who receive a qualifying benefit administered by the local authority such as Housing Benefit or income-related Council Tax reduction.
2. School uniform banks report difficulties that are created for families through uniform policies, for example requiring 100% black shoes, items with logos, tartan and hard to find colours, such as turquoise or maroon.
3. In 2022-23 there was a drop in the number of children for whom school clothing grant was awarded while the percentage of children living in poverty increased. A possible explanation for this drop is the provision of universal free school meals. Previously families would have been applying for both free school meals and clothing grant at the same time. This highlights the need to make it easier to receive school clothing grant.
4. Local authorities do not record information in terms of the Scottish Government’s 6 priority family groups for those applying for and/or receiving school clothing grant. Thus, local authorities cannot monitor if certain groups are less likely to apply for or receive the grant under their local Child Poverty Action Plans.
5. Eighteen local authorities have never paid more than the national minimum school clothing grant. However, other local authorities have taken a different approach, for example, in 2023-2024 East Dunbartonshire is providing double the national minimum school clothing grant (£240 for primary and £300 for secondary pupils). In 2022-2023 six authorities made an extra payment over the winter months ranging from £20 to £150.