PARENTS on low incomes face a postcode lottery when it comes to accessing grants for school uniforms, it has been revealed.
Hugely varying levels of support have been found by a BBC investigation, with some councils paying up to £70 more than others.
Last year, the Scottish Government pledged to meet councils to discuss setting a minimum level, but that conversation is yet to take place.
In 2015, when BBC Scotland first carried out the survey, the majority of Scotland’s 32 councils had failed to increase the level of school clothing grants for more than a decade.
In the two years since, just eight of Scotland’s 32 local council areas have increased their grants.
Seventeen councils have not increased the rate in more than a decade. In 2005, the average secondary school grant was £50.09. More than a decade later, 13 councils still pay less than that amount.
The average maximum grant offered by councils is now £63.80, still well short of the £70 minimum recommended in 2009.
The lowest maximum grant levels were in North Ayrshire at £40, while West Lothian paid the most at £110.
Angus Council had the lowest rate in 2015, having reduced it to just £20. It has since raised the grant to £50, the same as it was in 2005.
Education Secretary John Swinney said he wants a voluntary agreement for councils to set a nationwide rate.
Mr Swinney told BBC Scotland: “The Scottish Government took steps in legislation to establish the power to set a minimum rate – but we judged the most appropriate way to take that forward was by dialogue with local authorities to avoid regulation in this respect.
“The Government would prefer to take forward a voluntary approach with local government but we have the power within legislation to establish that minimum level if we choose to do so.”
A statement for local government body Cosla added: “Scotland’s councils are committed to doing the very best for the communities they are elected to represent, especially those people in the most need.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here