Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan has said an Executive is needed to implement a plan to make school uniforms affordable and cut costs for workers and families.

The West Belfast MLA said:

“Workers and families are already struggling with the rising cost of living and the price of fuel and electricity, paying out huge amounts for school uniforms will only add more pressure.

“The recent increase in the uniform grant is welcome, but more must be done to support families with rising uniform costs. We need a long-term solution.

“Sinn Féin has a plan to make school uniforms affordable and cut costs for families when back to school times comes around.

”We need to legislate to drive down costs by insisting schools have competitive tendering processes, remove requirements  for expensive branded items, and  permit the use of cheaper high street alternatives.

“We need an Executive up and running now so that we can start to put money in people’s pockets and implement a plan to cut the costs of school uniforms. One party should not hold that important work to ransom.”