I recently read in the paper that with rising fuel costs that many families would cross the fuel poverty line this winter. The fuel poverty line is the point at which over 10% of the household income is spent on heating bills. Some people have said that with rising pressures like this many families will struggle to keep their children in smart uniform and this raises the question as to whether buying shoes just for school is justified.

I believe strongly that it is. Children wear their school shoes every single …