Reform-controlled Wakefield Council is cutting school uniform support for thousands of local children, scrapping a universal voucher scheme in favour of a means-tested alternative.
The council's new cabinet has replaced a £2m scheme – which provided free uniform vouchers to all school children regardless of income – with a targeted programme costing around £700,000. The £1.3m saving will be redirected into other local services.
Under the revised plans, support will be limited to children eligible for free school meals and families experiencing financial hardship, with eligible households receiving £30 per child.
Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Cllr Matthew Caton, defended the cuts, arguing the previous universal scheme was ‘never the best use of public money’ and risked subsidising better-off parents.
The funding for the scheme comes from profits made when an affordable joint housing venture was wound up by the previous administration.
