Ulster Unionist Education Spokesperson, Rosemary Barton MLA, has welcomed the announcement by the Department of Education that it is no longer going to slash the funding available for school uniform grants by up to 60%.
The Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA, who is also a former school teacher, said:
“School uniform grants provide essential support for low income and non-working families to meet some of the costs of ensuring their children can have a good education.
“The previous announcement should never have been made. It was a direct consequence of some local politicians abdicating their responsibilities and placing crucial decisions in the hands of civil servants.
“The decision to cut the uniform grant caused real anger and anxiety, so many people will now quite rightly be questioning why it was made at all. Over the last number of months, the Department of Education was always considered one of the likely beneficiaries of additional funding from the Secretary of State.
“I would be disgusted if support for our schoolchildren was used as some kind of tactic in a failed attempt to influence the political situation at Stormont.
“I obviously welcome this last minute reprieve, but I fear it is only a matter of time before the next big reduction to public services is announced. We simply have to get Stormont back so that accountable local Ministers are in place to protect the vulnerable.”