Written question asked by John Whittingdale (Conservative) on Thursday, 26 April 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 1 May 2001. It was answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 May 2001 on behalf of the Department for Education and Employment.

Dept for Education and Employment

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what estimate he has made of the proportion of maintained (a) primary and (b) secondary schools which require the wearing of school uniform. - No figures given.

Answer: Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the proportion of maintained (a) primary and (b) secondary schools which require the wearing of school uniform. [159953] Jacqui Smith: We do not collect information about schools' uniform policies. The Government believe that school uniforms can make a valuable contribution to the identity and discipline of schools. It is, however, for school governors to decide whether there should be a uniform, and we believe that this should remain the case.

Secondary information