Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru

A breakdown of the number of beneficiaries of the school uniform grant in Wales over the last five years, by local authority is provided below.

The school uniform grant is a demand led grant, targeted specifically at pupils entering year 7 of secondary school who are eligible for free school meals and those pupils aged 11 at the start of the school year in special schools, special needs resource bases and pupil referral units who are eligible for free school meals. Local authorities administer the grant scheme on behalf of the Welsh Government.

Through the scheme, local authorities have been awarded an annual grant specifying the authority’s share of funding for administration of the grant and an indicative grant award figure based on the estimated number of eligible learners taken from the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC). Being a demand led grant, where the number of pupils eligible under the scheme is greater than the estimate, the Welsh Government has committed to increase the award to the authority on receipt of a completed claim form.

There are variations between the estimated allocations for each authority and the total grant amount paid. This is because the exact number of eligible learners wishing to claim the grant are not known until all claims have been received.

Officials closely monitor the grant spend throughout the year to identify any potential variances as early as possible. Historically the school uniform budget has not overspent. Local authorities may provide an enhanced discretionary scheme, for example targeting years 8 to 11 in addition to the year 7 school uniform grant.