A new law to make school uniforms cheaper in England and Wales will not be in place for the start of the school year.

The UK Government has told schools to expect full details of The Education (Guidance and Costs of School Uniforms) Bill, which was passed into law in April, in the autumn which will offer new statutory guidance schools so that affordability is at the centre of uniform policy.

However the delay means that parents buying new uniforms before the new school year, which starts this week, will not benefit from the change.

The new law, which will bring statutory guidance on uniforms making them cheaper for parents, includes telling schools to keep branded items to a minimum to allow families to buy cheaper supermarket clothes instead.

The legislation means that schools have to keep uniform affordable by law and they must try to avoid single-supplier contracts, specifying expensive items of clothing and that they should be able to demonstrate that they have obtained the best value for money in their clothing contracts.

Before the bill, there were no rules that dictated how school governing bodies decided what uniform families could buy.

Earlier this year, it was revealed by The Children’s Society that parents currently spend an average of £337 on uniform for each child at secondary school and £315 per child at primary school.

Subsequently, poorer parents had reported skipping meals or missing out on utilities like heating in order to afford uniforms.

A full new set of uniform in Powys directly from different schools - not including shoes or sports kits - varies per school from between £30 and just over £100.

Mike Amesbury, the Labour MP who first introduced the legislation, said he would be “incredibly disappointed” if there are any further delays to guidance causing it to impact on the school year starting in September 2022.

He added that hundreds of thousands of children, parents and campaigners would be just as a upset as him about the delay to uniform guidance which would help parents save on costs and stress of buying school uniforms across both England and Wales.

On offer to parents of children who receive free school meals, there is also the Pupils Development Grant which offers funding for school uniform, equipment, sports kit and kit activities outside of school.

The grant allows £125 per learner, and £200 for children entering year seven because of the increased costs associated with starting secondary school.

School children in reception as well as years one, three, five, and then seven through to 11 are all eligible for the grant.

In a special school, special needs resources base or pupil referral unit, the children aged four, five, seven, nine, and then 11 to 15 are eligible for the grant.

Funding for looked-after children is available in every school year, and families in all of the mentioned positions are only entitled to claim once per child per school year.

The 2021 to 2022 scheme opened on July 15 and parents who wish to apply for the grant should contact their local authority - for parents in Powys, this would mean contacting Powys County Council.