Under the guise of the Labour council’s long and expensive process often dressed up as “consultation”, can I reply to their appeal for residents’ views and suggest a quick way of saving council taxpayers nearly a million pounds over the life of this administration.

Scrap the decision to pay for school uniforms, largely for those already on state benefits. What are child allowances and tax credits for, if they are not to pay for priorities such as school uniforms? Subscribing to Sky Sports or buying designer trainers? I would hope not.

When you can buy school uniforms from Asda, Morrisons and Matalan for as little as £6, this is a ludicrous waste of public money that will cost hard-working taxpayers up to £200,000 a year. And how demeaning is it for low income families to go cap in hand to the council and ask for their child’s school uniform to be paid for by Enfield Council? This is a 19th Century policy that has had its time. If they are seeking to reduce costs, this can be done ‘at a stroke’.

Use council taxpayers’ money for the things that matter where the whole borough can benefit. Continue the Conservative policy of weekly bin collections, fill in those pot holes, strive for academic excellence and good discipline in our schools and support decent social care.

Councillor Jon Kaye
Conservative spokesman, Schools and Children’s Services
London Borough of Enfield