Why is VAT charged on school uniform?

As children across the UK are settling into the new school year, many families are facing hefty bills for compulsory school uniforms.

For older children - or those who are taller than average - school uniforms, as well as all other clothing and shoes, attract the full standard VAT rate of 20%.

Reality Check explores why these families are paying more and why successive governments haven't acted.

Clothing and shoes for young children have been charged a zero rate of VAT since the introduction of the tax on 1 April 1973.

The problem is that there is no definition of the term "young children" in VAT law. Instead, the VAT relief is based on the maximum size an average child will be on their 14th birthday.

So clothes for older children, as well as many children under the age of 14 who are larger than average, are taxed at 20%. And this includes school uniform.

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