Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
School for scandal...
Fury as grant money to help struggling parents to buy uniforms is cut by £3m
THOUSANDS of cash-strapped parents go to lost property uniform sales following a plan to slash school grants by £3million. The move could affect almost 100,000 children across Northern Ireland and has been branded an “attack on deprived communities”. Bangor Academy is holding day two of their second hand uniforms sale today and other schools are expected to follow their example. Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle said: “The cost of school uniforms is already difficult for many families to meet,” said “The families affected by this have been let down by the DUP and Sinn Fein, who refuse to form an Executive despite these mounting issues. “If this is not a priority, then families who benefited from this grant will be left as casualties.” It was reported those entitled to the grant would see the amount they get reduced. Last year families could claim £35.75 towards primary school uniform costs, with this amount increasing to £56 for pupils older than 15. But if these figures drop, lost property sales like the one hosted at Bangor Academy could be inundated. A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the decision on the £3million cut can be taken without a minister. It would see the money made available for uniform grants fall from £4.9million to less than £2million. The spokesperson said: “As a consequence of the indicative budget for the Department of Education announced by the Secretary of State on April 24, the department faces major financial pressures in 2017-18 if it is to operate within its budget. “Consequently options to reduce spending across all programme areas are being explored, including uniform grants.” The grant, although funded by DENI, is administered by the Education Authority. An Education Authority spokesperson said: “In its recent Resource Budget Allocation letter, the Department of Education has instructed the Education Authority to make certain spending cuts to achieve budget savings. said “These include a reduction in £3m for school uniform grants.” A number of parties they have requested urgent meetings with both public bodies, while Sinn Fein, People Before Profit and the SDLP said they will all be asking for the decision’s reversal. Sinn Fein MLA Paul Maskey said: “This proposed reduction is an attack on children and families from deprived communities and a further result of Tory austerity cuts.” His view was supported by People Before Profit’s Gerry Carroll, who called on the DUP to answer “serious questions” over their deal to prop up the government, which he said “legitimised the Tory austerity agenda”. Around 50 staff at Sure Start in South Belfast said in a statement they have been given protective redundancy notices. The DUP put the blame for the planned cuts to the Sure Start budget and uniform grant on Sinn Fein. DUP MLA Peter Weir said: “This uniform grant is being cut by unelected officials because Sinn Fein refuse to form an Executive.”