School uniforms investigated

05 July 2006

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The luctrative school uniforms trade is the latest segment of the retail industry to come under the watchful gaze of the OFT, as complaints have been recieved about the quality and price of uniforms.

Most school pupils in the UK have to wear school uniforms, but when it comes to buying them, parents are limited in choice. Many schools now specify where the uniform is to be bought from.

This could be the reason there is little competition in the industry and it is now worth £450m a year. The OFT is looking into wether the lack of competition, and the links with schools are having an adverse effect on consumers.

School dress codes are set by governors, and schools can either provide the uniform direct from the manufacturer, or stipulate which outside retailers to use.

As part of the "fact-finding" study, the OFT has written to nearly 10,000 state schools in the UK to determine whether their uniforms policy allows parents to choose where to buy them.

Some schools have been accused of backdoor selection, deterring parents who can't afford to buy uniforms from high end, and high price retailers, and it's this kind of trick that, according to Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Sarah Teather has "got to be stopped"

The OFT has written 1'000 letters to schools, to find out wether their policy allows a choice of where to buy school uniform

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