Bradford Council may axe its school clothing allowance, it has emerged.

The future of grants provided by the local authority to allow hard-up families to buy school clothes will be discussed by councillors next week.

A report to go before the Council’s Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee outlines a range of options including stopping the allowance, which cost the authority almost £420,000 during the last financial year.

School clothing grants are no longer available at eight neighbouring authorities including Kirklees, Calderdale, Rochdale and Oldham, and removing the grant would make savings of £442,000, the report says.

Other options set to be discussed by councillors include continuing to support existing claims but not allowing new ones to be submitted, reducing costs by more than £40,000 a year.

Councillors are also asked to consider reducing payment amounts, limiting claims to once every two years or to specific year groups.

Replacing the grant scheme with an exceptional hardship fund, administered either by the Council or schools, is also proposed.

Councillor Macolm Sykes (Thornton and Allerton, Con) said the committee was unlikely to recommend ending the allowance but would discuss ways to make it more cost-effective.

He said: “I think it would be wrong for us to take this away. The reality of the situation is that families are finding it very hard to make ends meet and help with clothing is needed.”

School clothing allowances are available to all children of parents who receive benefits including income support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, pension credit and child tax credit with an annual income of less than £16,190.

Recipients are given vouchers worth £26 once a year that can be redeemed at nine clothing outlets in the district.

The report will be discussed at the committee’s meeting on Thursday at 5.30pm before being referred to members of the Council’s executive.