Parents had ‘ample warning’ over personal college VAT raid, Labour say

Labour stepped up its class war on private schools yesterday after the Education Secretary suggested VAT could be applied to school fees as early as January.

Independent school groups branded Bridget Phillipson’s plans ‘needlessly disruptive’ and said they could lead to parents having to withdraw their pupils in the middle of the school year.

Yesterday she said that ministers will ‘move quickly’ on the policy, which they say will raise £1.5billion a year to fund 6,500 more state school teachers, and suggested schools ‘have had ample time to prepare’.

‘Schools should be planning for the introduction of this change, which we first set out in 2021,’ she told Times Radio. ‘We’ve been clear about our position on this for some time. We do want to move as quickly as we can.’

Initial reports had suggested that VAT would not be applied to fees until September 2025 – the start of the academic year after next.

Independent school groups branded Bridget Phillipson’s (pictured) plans ‘needlessly disruptive’ and said they could lead to parents having to withdraw their pupils in the middle of the school year

School pupils in Glasgow. Initial reports suggested that VAT would not be applied to fees until September 2025 – the start of the academic year after next (stock image)

Rudolf Eliott Lockhart, Chief Executive Officer of The Independent Schools Association, told the Mail: ‘Introducing VAT on fees in the middle of the school year would be needlessly disruptive for those families who have already chosen a school for the coming academic year. Parents who cannot afford higher school fees resulting from VAT will have no choice but to withdraw their children mid-year.

‘We have asked to discuss the complex range of issues that would be brought by the implementation of VAT on school fees with the Secretary of State. It is essential that the Government speaks with the independent sector before implementing this policy. There are complex issues that require careful consideration to protect vulnerable children from negative impacts, such as pupils with SEND who don’t have an EHCP.’

Labour’s class-war private school raid will be announced in this autumn’s budget despite concerns that the added costs could force thousands of children into the state sector.

Damian Hinds MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, said last night: ‘Labour’s education tax policy will be disastrous for pupils across the country.

‘They have been warned over and over by countless experts that this policy, fuelled by misguided ideology, will lead to a flood of students leaving the private sector without any plans to accommodate them in state schools. And by moving up the timeline to the middle of the school year, they will only compound this chaos.

Damian Hinds (pictured) MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, said last night: ‘Labour’s education tax policy will be disastrous for pupils across the country’

‘Pupils, teachers, and schools across the country will all pay the price for this.’

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has also suggested that the party has overestimated the amount it will raise from the policy. The actual figure, they say, will be between £1.3billion and £1.6billion.

Campaigners on behalf of the independent education sector have also called for an end to ministerial ‘speculation’ on the VAT imposition.

Julie Robinson, CEO of the Independent Schools Council, said: ‘Families will have made choices about education months before an election was called; they cannot adequately plan for their children’s futures based on speculation, uncertainty and the possibility of in-year fee rises.

‘There are a number of complex practicalities to consider in implementing the policy, and it needs to be dealt with thoughtfully and carefully to ensure the fewest number of children possible have their education disrupted.

‘There is still a need for urgent clarification on what the implications would be for, for example, forces families, faith schools and children with SEND but without an EHCP. The government has said it will engage with key stakeholders on this; we welcome the engagement we have had thus far and look forward to more over the coming weeks and months.’