In line with all other children's clothing, school uniform is currently only exempt when it fits a child aged 13 or under.  It is unlikely that an adult would wear badged school uniform as a way of buying cheap clothing - it would look quite sad outside of a ‘school disco' event - so removing VAT on all items which are school-specific seems like a fantastic idea on balance.

A uniform is a mandatory purchase for most parents, after all. And one which brings a number of significant benefits to the child, in terms of promoting a sense of belonging; the community, in terms of security; and the school, in terms of behaviour. It seems only logical and fair, therefore, that parents should not be taxed on this purchase.

EDM 409 did, in fact, arise from a specific case involving one of Lindsay Hoyle's constituents - a mother who wrote a letter to him back in August after buying school uniform for her large 14-year old son and comparing it with what she paid for that of her other smaller, younger son.  The price shocked her and indeed the MP, whose office then began to research the issue. 

The problem is, it is quite simply not legal to reduce the rate of VAT on anything now to zero. This was something we discovered in 2007 when we first launched our Untax Our Teens campaign.

When Britain joined the EU in 1973, negotiations took place to enable all zero-rated VAT items to stay as they were, on the condition that nothing else could ever be made zero-rated.  Even if the British Government could be prevailed upon to agree and change uniforms to a zero-rating they would be fined by the EU!

But while researching our Untax our Teens campaign, we found that it is possible to persuade the EU to allow the UK to reduce the rate of VAT on certain items to 5% - the lowest rate possible. This is what we have spent the last two years campaigning for, garnering support from our members, MPs, MEPs and educational organisations such as the NAHT.

Since EDM 409 we have met with Lindsay Hoyle to discuss these aspects and garner his support. We will be working with him and our other MP contacts during the coming weeks. In fact Mark Oaten MP has just put down two questions on this precise subject.

If you agree that a mother paying 15% tax on school uniform for one child and 0% for another, purely because the former may be broader or taller, is ridiculous and you would like to become involved with the Untax our Teens campaign please visit our website www.schoolwearassociation.co.uk

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