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As children across Northern Ireland return to school in the coming weeks, Advice NI is urging people to seek advice as many struggles to cope with the triple whammy of additional costs of summer holidays, the Cost of Living crisis, and the increasing costs of school uniforms.

Advice NI’s money and debt service, says that with Northern Ireland having longer summer holidays than England and Wales, families here are hit harder, not to mention the higher cost of uniforms in NI.

Sinead Campbell, Advice NI says that this can be a very difficult time for many.

She said: “This year we are seeing added pressures with the cost of living crisis. Families are already struggling to deal with increased costs of food, fuel, and energy. Those most vulnerable or low-income families already find the summer holidays a stressful time and can lead to those getting into debt to manage children’s expectations and the sheer cost of having extra mouths to feed for two months. Asda's latest Income Tracker Report shows the spending power of families in Northern Ireland has fallen below £100 for the first time since 2017. It states that the average family here is £188.34 worse off per month compared to June 2021.

“As children go back to school, the added cost of school uniforms leads to further financial strain. According to PEG: “The Parent Engagement Group research found the average cost in Northern Ireland of a primary school uniform was £173 and post-primary £378. Although we welcome the 20% increase in School uniform grants provided to low-income families the size of the grant (£35.75 for primary school children, and around £75 for post-primary) is far smaller than similar schemes in the rest of the UK and Ireland (where, broadly, grants are two are three times higher than in NI). You can really see how families would struggle to make ends meet, we urge families to look to local charities providing pre-loved school uniform banks or school uniform swap shops before getting into debt.

“Research Commissioned by the Irish League of Credit Unions in 2020 found one-third of parents are plunged into debt each year when buying school uniforms. Average debt encountered by parents when buying uniform was £222. That was a £30 increase on the average debt from 2019.”

Cost of summer holidays leads to serious debt for many