'Great job': Richard Tice defends Reform Barnsley cutting school uniform support
Reform deputy leader Richard Tice has backed his party’s plans to cut back school uniform support in Barnsley, saying the councillors are “doing a great job”.
In May, Reform ended Labour’s 52-year reign in the South Yorkshire borough, by sweeping to power with a comprehensive majority.
However, the council has been hit with controversy after Reform recently announced it was cutting school uniform support for families.
Last year, more than 33,000 uniform vouchers were issued to Barnsley families, totalling £2.5m.
However, Reform has significantly scaled this back - only allowing funding to go to children in transition years, such as Reception of Year 7.
Labour has estimated that this will mean 28,000 families will miss out.
When asked about this on his pre-conference radio round by BBC Sheffield, Mr Tice said: “The team in Barnsley are doing a great job. Voters put them in by a huge majority and that’s because they realised that the council’s broken.
“We’re getting stuck in both in the first 100 days but also beyond. We will do a great job as well as we’re doing in Wakefield.
“What you’ve got to remember is that people voted for us, having seen the job we’d done from May 25 onwards.”
When pressed on his opinion on the school uniform support cuts, Mr Tice added: “Across the piece the team are working hard and they are identifying savings as well as ensuring services are delivered better.
“That is why I’ve got great confidence in the team in Barnsley and elsewhere.
“People are voted in for a five-year term and we will continue to do a sterling job.”
Coun James Higginbottom, leader of Barnsley Labour, said: “The school uniform grant scheme was fully funded for the 2026/27 academic year, as part of Barnsley Labour’s balanced budget.
“To remove it now shows us exactly what Reform’s priorities are: taking away vital cost of living support for thousands of Barnsley families.”