The Schoolwear Association has been campaigning for the past two years to remove the VAT on School Uniform, which currently acts as a de facto ‘school uniform’ tax.
The campaign gained good momentum throughout the year, with 24,617 people signing our petition to abolish VAT on school uniform, and the campaign covered in the national press. This was further bolstered by our parliamentary event in September which saw dozens of MPs across different political parties, including Labour, signing a pledge of support to abolish VAT on School Uniform.
We have since had some encouraging conversations with various political stakeholders who have given us reason to believe this is the kind of low-cost, easy-to-implement measure the Treasury might consider. With the Government’s Autumn statement on the horizon – one of two fiscal events ahead of a General Election next year – now is the perfect time to make our voices heard and ensure the school uniform tax is abolished.
We should be proud of our work as an industry to keep school uniform costs down, with the average basket cost of uniform 5% less than 2020, despite soaring inflation. However, we now need to call on the Government to do more to ensure that school uniform remains as affordable as possible for families.
We are therefore requesting that all members who feel comfortable doing so would write to their local MP with the template letter (download here: SA VAT Campaign – Letter to Local MP)
You can find your local MP’s name and constituency office correspondence address using the tool here.
If you have any questions on the above, feel free to contact the WA team on schoolwear@wacomms.co.uk who will be happy to assist.