 The final item of business is a member's business debate on motion 1095 in the name of Fulton MacGregor on alleviating poverty associated with the purchase of school uniforms in Scotland. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I would ask members who wish to participate in the debate to press their request-to-speak buttons now or as soon as possible. I call on Fulton MacGregor to open the debate for around seven minutes. I'm pleased to have secured this debate today, and I would like to start by thanking members from all parties across the chamber who have signed the motion and those staying to participate in the debate. I'd also like to thank those who have helped me with this debate and preparing for it, particularly Julio Byrne and Ann Culley and the whole team at CoolSkill Uniforms, in my constituency of Co-bridge and Chrysyn, and Dr Rachel Shanks at the University of Aberdeen. Their knowledge and expertise in this area have been indispensable in bringing this debate to the table. Presiding Officer, I'm sure that we can all agree that all children regardless of background deserve to be able to attend school in clean, warm and comfortable clothes. However, unfortunately, this is currently not always the case. We have uniformed banks across the country, similar to food banks, and with a cut in universal credit by the Tories, it is becoming harder and harder for parents and carers who are trying to make ends meet to provide for their families. I was glad that this Parliament voted overwhelmingly yesterday for the UK Government to reverse its reclining decision to cut universal credit. The ball is very much now in their court. However, of course, this cut in universal credit is only the latest attack on our most vulnerable by this UK Government that Scotland did not vote for. Again, this Parliament is in the predicament where we have been asked to merely act as a mitigation chamber, and we have already done so much with the bedroom tax, increasing the Scottish child payment and so much more. It is in that context that I know, without full powers, how much we have done already, how difficult it is to do even more with issues such as school uniforms, but more indeed we must do as part of a range of measures to tackle child poverty in this country. We all know that uniforms can be one of the most significant school costs for parents. The Scottish Government has already provided £100 minimum school clothing grant for families on low incomes across the country and has committed to reviewing the real cost of school uniforms for less well-off families, increasing the grant to at least £120 in primary school and £150 in secondary school and ensuring that it increases each year with inflation. I was delighted that the SNP Green co-operation agreement has recognised this and committed to introducing statutory guidance for schools and encouraged the increase of use of generic items of uniform, but I would urge it to do so as soon as materially possible. That is affecting parents and carers now and the pandemic has made an already difficult situation even worse. I wonder if, in summing up the minister, we would indicate an expected timescale for the statutory guidance to be brought forward. This is not a new issue and I have been working with school uniforms for some years now—indeed, since the information about three or four years ago. I have been discussing the problems that parents and carers in my constituency often face when it comes to affording school uniforms. I think that any parent in here will testify to that they are very expensive and that is when we consider an MSP salary. As I am sure many members are equally aware, so many schools now demand very specific items for their uniforms with badges, colours and styles. Those are not always widely available and are only obtainable from specific suppliers. Of course, school pride and identity is very important and I am not arguing against uniforms in that respect. Indeed, like probably everyone else, in here I retain a special pride for each of my schools and I will take this opportunity to give them a wee shout-out. Coat Dyke primary, now closed. Ruxillock primary, where I went after Coat Dyke, and Coatbridge high school. Your school often is a special place in your heart and much of that is driven by the identity of school communities. What I believe is not to remove that identity, but what we need is more standardised uniforms that makes sure that nobody is being left behind and begins to break the stigma. Currently, suppliers can set the price for uniform at whatever they please. With so many having a monopoly it is leaving parents and carers in the unenviable position of having to fork out for an expensive uniform or to potentially send their child to school in a generic one, which is more affordable, but makes them more likely to feel out of place from their peers. Members may also be aware that a new law was passed in England in April, which will require schools to follow new statutory guidance and uniform costs. That was brought forward by Labour MP Mike Gainsbury, and I congratulate him on that. I understand that the UK Department of Education is due to publish statutory guidance later this year instructing England's schools to keep prices down, consider high street alternatives and encourage the use of second-hand uniforms. That is a fantastic move, I believe, and I hope that it will implement that with haste and with appropriate safeguards to ensure quality. I think that that will be very important. Ahead of this debate, I spoke with Julie Obam, who I mentioned previously. She is the chair and founder of Cool School Uniforms. For members' information, she is also my local hero at the opening of Parliament this Saturday. For those who are not familiar with the Uniform Bank, Cool School Uniforms accepts donations of uniform, which are in good condition and redistributes it to those who require it. Families can be referred through schools, social work departments or any respected caring group or individual. Families can also self-refer and will be assisted after benefit checks. The group helped with PE kits and stationery too, and ensure children can go to school ready to learn. Their work is absolutely invaluable and a lifeline to so many, but of course I still wish places like this, as well as food banks, did not have to exist. Julie has said that generic uniforms are something that she would unquestionably support. I spoke to me before about how this is something that successfully takes place elsewhere, for example in Wales. She detailed how some schools request such specific colours for their blazers or shirts, for example a lilac shirt that there is no choice to buy from supermarkets, which are the affordable option for so many parents and carers. A white shirt from a supermarket, for example, can be as little as £3 for a pack of two, for a lilac shirt from a uniform supplier, which is £16 for a pack of two. That is a huge difference if you are on the red line and there is not much change left from the grant of £100 once the basics have been purchased. The overall back-to-school bill can add up to several hundreds of pounds for parents with more than one child, and that is why I believe the current grant available is not working as well as it should or could be. Of course, with COP26 fast approaching, there is a climate issue here too. Clothing is a huge contributor to global carbon emissions. That does not mean that we should stop buying uniforms, but if we can get more than a year's use out of something, then we absolutely should. I know from my own kids that they grow so fast and we are always hoping to get as long as possible out of their clothes, but unavoidable growth spurts mean that their clothes are often new when they no longer fit. It is important that there are options to reuse such items. I also want to talk about Dr Rachel Shanks at the University of Aberdeen, who has undertaken a phenomenal amount of research on the issue. I have spoken to her ahead of lodging my motion and I would like to highlight the three broad recommendations that are borne out in her research. First, we implement statutory guidance and school uniform policies with affordability as a top priority. Secondly, statutory guidance will be under regular reviews of exclusive supply arrangements of school uniform items in order to reduce the cost of the school uniform. Thirdly, school uniform dress code and appearance policies are required to involve pupils in decision making in both their creation and regular reviews. I think that those recommendations are fair and proportionate, and I would ask the Government again to comment on those and provide a view of whether further legislation such as through a member's bill could be helpful and useful to the Government. I will include by saying that every child deserves to be able to attend school with clean and warm clothes that do not single them out from their peers. In a time of great austerity imposed by the Scottish Tory Government, it is becoming more and more difficult for parents and carers to ensure that the cash to make sure that young people are kitted out for school, even with uniform grants in place. School uniforms can only be one part of a suite of measures to alleviate child poverty, including free school meals for larger cohorts and the uplifting of the Scottish child payment. I hope that we can move forward swiftly with a policy that will help to mitigate uniform policy and ensure that our children are arriving at school equipped to learn. Megan Gallagher, who will be followed by Emma Harper. Ms Gallagher, four minutes please. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I start by thanking Fulton MacGregor for bringing this important topic of school uniforms to the chamber today. Cool school uniforms, based in Coatbridge, is one of many organisations that go above and beyond to help families to obtain warm, clean and comfortable school uniforms. Ms Gallagher has spoken highly of the work that she does and I share her admiration and her dedication to helping those whom we struggle to afford uniforms for their children. There is more that we can do in this Parliament to support organisations and to make uniforms more available to all families so that no young person feels awkward or segregated from their peers. It is my intention to explore some of those proposals during my contribution this evening. At present, a large majority of Scottish publicly funded schools require pupils to wear a uniform that can cause financial strain on families each school term. In 2020, the Children's Society found that families across the UK were paying on average £337 per year on school uniforms for each secondary school child. The same study found that those costs were more than three times what parents think is a reasonable cost for secondary uniforms. There is currently support in place for some families as they are entitled to a uniform grant. Whilst it was welcomed that the Scottish Government increased the school uniform grant for primary and secondary school pupils, they were forced into that decision and now eligible primary school pupils will receive a minimum of £120 and £150 per eligible secondary school pupil. This falls now more in line with the views of parents and families as they should not have to pay through the nose in order to ensure that their child has the appropriate school uniform. It is relevant that we recognise the importance of uniforms. It removes any stigma as some families cannot afford the latest designer clothes, they are visible and it should give them a sense of pride in their school. However, with one-fifth of secondary school pupils specifying an exclusive supplier for uniforms, I can understand why, as the end of the school holiday straw near, that families need to make tough decisions as they cannot source their own supplier within their own budgets. Although the SNP Green Coalition has said that they intend to crack down on schools using exclusive suppliers for school uniforms, that promise has not yet been brought forward. They both included that idea within their manifesto but we need action now and, as stated in the motion today, steps to alleviate poverty associated with the purchase of school uniforms should be brought forward as soon as possible. In addition, the Scottish Government must bring forward a £20 increase to the child payment without delay. Until those actions are brought forward, organisations such as Cool School Uniform may continue to experience an increase of demand but families are looking for support of donated clothing. I will continue to seek confirmation from the Scottish Government that clothing grants are not delayed, as they were last year. That, understandably, caused upset and panicked appearance to parents who were entitled to that grant as they did not know if they would receive that financial support in time. Therefore, it is imperative that councils receive that funding so that they can administer it to families in plenty of time before the school term begins and so that they and their child can be organised and ready to return to school. Mr McGregor made an interesting point regarding the reuse of clothing and I share his interest in sustainable clothing, which could involve our young people and our fight to tackle climate change. To conclude, the Scottish Government must bring forward their plans to stop schools from using SEP suppliers and continue to review the school uniform grant, which the Scottish Conservatives support. We also need to make sure that grants are provided to families at the appropriate time to reduce the pressures on organisations that go above and beyond to support their communities. I thank Mr McGregor once again for bringing that issue to the chamber today, and I look forward to hearing other contributions. Welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate and congratulate Fulton McGregor on securing it. I too want to start by congratulating Cool School Uniforms and Coatbridge for ensuring that children and young people across Coatbridge are able to obtain clear and comfortable school uniforms. I welcome the commitment in the Scottish Government and Green Party agreement to bring forward statutory guidance for schools to increase the use of generic items of school uniform. I agree that the use of exclusive supplier arrangements between schools and businesses is prohibitive for many families and can be extremely expensive. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a direct negative impact on the budget of families across Scotland, including in my south Scotland region. At the same time, costs have increased significantly. Too often, school uniforms are an additional expense that families on a low income struggle to meet. Over the course of the pandemic, the London School of Economics carried out research into the effects of the cost of school uniforms on low-income families across the four UK nations. The report found that, in all parts of the UK case study, it showed that families were being driven to choose between heating or eating as well as school uniforms. The report also found that the root cause of those inequalities is the UK Government's welfare system. I welcome that, unlike in England, where there are only regional variations of support, steps being taken by the Scottish Government, such as the school clothing grant of £120 for primary school and £150 for secondary school pupil, which is a lifeline for many families. One participant in the LSE study, Talia, from the Scottish Borders, articulated well the challenges being faced by families regarding the uniforms. Talia once relied on charity shops and pre-loved clothing from friends and people in the community for school uniforms. The inaccessibility of those during lockdown triggered a spiral of bills, debt and hunger. Talia said, because of Covid, I have not received any hand-me-down clothes for my sons this whole year. In September, I had to buy three children all brand new uniforms. I am £2,000 in debt. I ran out of money a week last Thursday. I have only eaten a diet of bread and potatoes this last month and I wanted to ensure that my kids had food. That was at the time when the UK Government was proposing to cut the £20 per week universal credit uplift from the most vulnerable families across the UK. It is completely unacceptable and, again, calling the UK Government to reverse that callous, cruel cut. I want to highlight some of the important work that has been carried out by dedicated people across Dumfries and Galloway to ensure that young people have access to school uniforms. The Dumfries Uniform Bank, run by Dr Amy Vetters, which I visited in 2018 and has been operational since 2017, is available to any family across Dumfries in its surrounding areas who are struggling with the cost of school uniforms. The Uniform Bank has a collection points in various supermarkets where those able can donate items of uniform. They have helped over 380 families so far with uniform costs, and I thank Amy and the volunteers for their work. Another organisation locally across D&G is Aberlour. I visited the Aberlour Dumfries North West Resource Centre campus on Monday and I visited with Amanda McAllister, who is the manager. Aberlour has a range of support options available to families for school uniforms and their recent one-shirt one-month challenge has been getting great support to help with the cost of school uniforms for local families across the area. I again welcome this debate and I support what the Scottish Government has in place to assist families with the cost of school uniforms. I again call on the UK Government to reverse the callous and cruel cut of the £20 per week uplift universal credit. I thank Fulton MacGregor for bringing this debate to the chamber. Scotland, in 2021, simply should not require many of the services that Fulton MacGregor has mentioned in his motion in his speech this evening. Decisions from this Government and from the Conservative Government Westminster have made it harder for people to get by, ensuring that less families are in stable, well-paid employment and thus have seen more people, more children live and grow up in poverty. Indeed, a poverty associated with the purchase of school uniforms in Scotland is a direct impact of political decision making. Families are being let down and we must act with purpose to deliver the real and radical change required to improve livelihoods and life chances. In the motion that we are debating this evening, there is a reference to the suggestion that we should welcome the SNP green party coalition pledge to bring forward statutory guidance for schools to increase the use of generic items of uniforms to reduce costs. Indeed, any progressive steps to make sure buying school uniforms easier and less expensive for low-income families, I will support, because I know the pressure that some parents feel to provide items such as a new school uniform for their children, when it is not an expense that they can afford. However, after 14 years in government, where the Government has taken Tory cuts and multiplied them and passed them on to local communities, I hope that I can be forgiven for being sceptical about the likelihood of the SNP green coalition taking the necessary steps to support our lowest-income families and communities. I hope that from tonight's debate I can be proven wrong, and the members that I have waited here will stand up and be counted on this one. However, in response to the need created by political decision making, it has been encouraging to see so many groups and individuals in our local communities doing all that they can to help parents to provide uniforms for children, whether that be in the form of donating direct to families or setting up uniform banks, as discussed tonight, where uniforms can be handed in and collected by families. Communities pulling together to help alleviate pressure put on their neighbours by poverty associated with the purchasing of school uniforms and other items has been truly positive and has continued throughout the pandemic. South Ayrshire School clothing bank in my own area is a fine example of that work, run fully by volunteers with a mission to ensure that every child is able to go to school in clothing just like their peers, which they believe can help their ability to learn, socialise and develop key interpersonal skills. However, I would stress again, Deputy Presiding Officer, that it is shameful that it has come to this. Although community intervention is welcome and the work of volunteers is admirable, the correct policies would have to be put in place to ensure that it is not needed. Turning to local government, a Labour-run North Lanarkshire council, despite over a decade of cuts being made to the budget this year, became the first councillor in the United Kingdom to introduce a clothing and footwear grant for nursery children. That is an example of a council doing what it can to give children the best start in life. It is clear to me that, if the action such as that was to be replicated across Scotland, our young people would start off with the best of benefits. It is devastating, Deputy Presiding Officer, that poverty, associated with the purchase of school uniforms exist in Scotland. I agree with Fulton McGregor that schools can and should do more to make generic and less expensive uniform items more accessible to parents of the children attending. Having an exclusive supplier of expensive uniforms may work for school, but it does not necessarily work for low-income families that it serves. I would welcome regular reviews into such arrangements. However, Deputy Presiding Officer, I will end by saying that the issue that we are debating today has much deeper causes, namely policies that have been fundamentally flawed and have failed the people most in need. To alleviate poverty caused by a host of factors, we have to be more radical in our politics and stand up for those who have been let down by austerity and cuts, and only by doing that will we deliver the change that we truly need. Thank you very much, Ms Mocken. I now call on Claire Hockie to respond to the debate. Minister, again, around seven minutes please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I am very grateful to Fulton McGregor for bringing forward this motion and enabling discussion of this very important issue within the Scottish Parliament. I would firstly wish to recognise and thank cool school uniforms for their work in supporting children, young people and their families at access school uniform items, enabling pupils to achieve their potential. I would also like to thank all those who work and volunteer in clothing banks across Scotland for their commitment and support to families. I absolutely recognise the issues and concerns that have been raised in the debate this evening. Our programme for government set out the actions that we will take in our efforts to end child poverty. The Scottish child payment, already benefiting eligible families with children up to six, will be extended to include children up to the age of 16 by the end of next year, subject to the necessary data being made available from the DWP. However, we are already supporting as many children as possible through our bridging payments. Through that benefit, unique in the UK, designed to tackle poverty head on, we are now reaching 108,000 children and we are committed to increase the child payment from £10 to £20 per child per week, as soon as possible. We will continue the process through the budget bill process, or consider this through the budget bill process. As part of the strategic approach, we will also reduce the cost of the school day and we will build a system to ensure equal access to the full package of education, breaking down financial barriers to make a real difference in the lives of children from low-income families. We have already abolished music tuition charges and extended universal provision of school meals to children in primary 4. Over the course of this Parliament, we will extend free school meals to all primary school pupils all year round. In addition to expansion of free school lunches, we are also committed to universal free breakfast provision for all primary school pupils during term time and in the holidays. That will ensure that all primary school pupils will be able to benefit from a nutritious breakfast at the start of the day every day. We will also provide every child with an electronic device and a connection to get online, recognising that this is as essential to education today as jotters and pencils were in years gone by. I want to turn to school uniform particularly in a moment, but I wish to acknowledge the work of the child poverty action group. The group has recently published an updated toolkit for schools to support them in considering the cost of the school day for families and the toolkit provides a range of resources to support schools, local authorities and their partners to identify and address financial barriers to participation and learning. At the heart of the resource is the involvement of children, parents and staff in identifying which school items result in additional financial burdens for families and risk children and young people experiencing stigma or feeling excluded. Turning now to school uniforms particularly, we also know that uniforms can be one of the most significant school costs for families and I confirm that we are firmly committed to overcoming barriers to accessing education, including those arising from school uniforms. In partnership with local authorities, we have delivered on our commitment to increase the level of the school clothing grant in Scotland, increasing the vital support to at least £120 for primary school pupils and £150 for secondary school pupils. That was in place in time for the start of the new school year in August. As has been recognised by Fulton MacGregor during his parliamentary term, we will introduce statutory guidance for schools, increasing the use of generic items of uniform and reducing costs for families. As Mr MacGregor asked me about a timescale in his speech, we will engage with stakeholders as soon as possible as part of preparing that guidance. Those are important steps. We must all do what we can to ensure that families are able to afford school uniforms. Fulton MacGregor. I thank the minister for taking intervention and for answering the question about statutory guidance in talking to stakeholders. I wonder as well if she could comment on another question that asked about how she feels that legislation might be taken forward, the statutory guidance, and if she felt that a member's bill would be helpful for her. I am certainly happy to discuss with Mr MacGregor what he has raised as a member's bill. At the moment, we are looking at guidance, but I am certainly happy to explore that with him in due course. We must do all that we can to ensure that families are able to afford school uniforms. We know that some families are sacrificing essentials such as heating, food and rent payments so that the children can participate fully in schools. That cannot be right. Yesterday, the Parliament voted overwhelmingly, as Emma Harper mentioned in her speech, to support cancelling the planned £20 cut to universal credit next month, a cut that will plunge 60,000 families and 20,000 children into poverty. I therefore find it quite rich that one of the Tory MSPs then asked us to introduce the £20 child payment without delay, and it might be noted that there is not a Tory member sitting on the benches here. They have left the debate. I am pleased to see that the commitment to introduce statutory guidance— Minister, just to the record, Megan Gallagher, who has contributed to the debate, is still here. Is here, virtually, yes, but the two members who were here, Presiding Officer, have left. I am pleased to see that the commitment to introduce statutory guidance on school uniforms has been set out as part of the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party's shared policy programme. I welcome the opportunity to work with colleagues to deliver that commitment and ensure that all our children and young people are able to go to school free from stigma, are included, engaged and involved in their learning and are supported to reach their full potential. Thank you very much indeed, Minister. That concludes the debate, and I close this meeting of Parliament.