Timing of private schools VAT raid ‘cruel and punitive’
The timing of the Government’s VAT raid on private school fees is “cruel and punitive”, the head of an association representing hundreds of prep schools has said.
Dominic Norrish, the chief executive of the Independent Association of Prep Schools, said in a letter to Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, and Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, that implementing the change in January was “arbitrary”.
His letter came after it emerged that the policy faces a High Court legal challenge over claims that it breaches human rights law.
Lawyers have written to HM Treasury arguing that the policy discriminates against special educational needs pupils and has threatened court action if it is not dropped.
Mr Norrish, whose association represents 600 schools, said in the letter – reported in The Times – that there was no “compelling logic” for introducing the change in January.
“Regardless of how long ago Labour’s intentions were announced, implementing VAT on fees a school term after forming a Government does not give parents enough time to act in their child’s best interests and appears cruel and punitive,” he said.
“Many prep schools have small numbers of pupils, which will likely make them more vulnerable when the VAT exemption on public school fees is axed.
“A mid-year start creates numerous problems for schools, parents and the tax authorities that do not need to exist,” said Mr Norrish. “January feels like an arbitrary date, attractive merely due to its proximity to the present. Large numbers [of families] will be forced, now at very short notice, to move their children elsewhere.”
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Mr Norrish said the policy would have a “seismic” effect on pupils whose parents were forced to change the school they attend.
“Unless you have experienced having to unexpectedly change school as a child, leaving behind all of your established relationships and slowly gained [a] sense of psychological safety, it can be hard to grasp how seismic the effect can be,” he said. “It is an experience that no parent would choose for their child.
“You have argued that parents have had plenty of notice of your intentions and, presumably, could have moved their child to another school for this September, or found the extra funds for VAT. Regrettably, this comes across as unempathetic cant, which cannot have been your intention.”
The Government has previously insisted that the number of children who will be forced to leave public schools because of the VAT raid would be “minimal”.
In a statement last week, the Department for Education (DfE) said: “We expect that private schools will try to minimise any fee increases. We expect the number of pupils who might decide to change schools to a state school from private schools to be minimal.
“There is also lots of evidence to suggest that there are more than enough state school places for pupils who may move from a private school.”
