Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan has welcomed the announcement of an additional one million pounds to help low-income families with uniform costs.

The West Belfast MLA said:

“Today’s announcement that uniform grants for eligible families will be increased by 20% is welcome but much more needs to be done to support families with rising uniform costs.

“A recent poll of parents showed that 94% were concerned about the rising costs of uniforms and PE gear, while 32% said they get into debt to cover the costs.

“Sinn Féin has a plan to make uniforms more affordable for all families but to make this happen we need the DUP to end its boycott of the Executive.

“We need the DUP to join immediately with other parties to form an Executive so we can tackle the cost of living crisis and get money into the pockets of workers and families.”