Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 2.62 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the application of the standard VAT rate to independent schools on the teaching of (a) music and (b) the arts in such schools; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing support to such schools for such teaching.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
HM Treasury (HMT) is responsible for VAT policy. HMT has published its assessment of the impacts of removing the VAT exemption that applied to private school fees, which can be found on here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/ac8c20ce-4824-462d-b206-26a567724643#who-is-likely-to-be-affected.
As this sets out, the government expects the impacts of these changes on the private and state sectors to be small.
The government's costings have been scrutinised by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.
As set out in HMT’s response to the technical consultation in the VAT changes, performing arts schools that offer full-time education to children of compulsory school age and/or 16 to 19-year-olds for a charge will remain in scope of this policy. This is to ensure fairness and consistency across all schools that provide education services and vocational training for a charge. In addition to providing performing arts education, when educating children of compulsory school age, these institutions will also provide academic education. An exemption from the VAT rules would therefore be unfair to other private schools.
The department provides means-tested bursaries for eligible families as part of the Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) if their child has a place at any one of eight performing arts private schools. For the 2024/25 academic year, lower income families will receive additional support to ensure the total cost of their parental contributions do not rise from January 2025 as a result of the VAT change. This will benefit around half of the families with an MDS bursary for their child.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the capacity of state schools to accommodate a potential increase in students transferring from private schools; and whether students transferring from private schools in rural areas will be guaranteed a place at their nearest state school.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government predicts that 35,000 pupils will move into UK state schools in the long-term steady state following the removal of the VAT exemption to school fees. The government expects approximately 2,900 pupils will move into state schools in England following the business rates policy taking effect. As such, the impact on the state education system as a whole is expected to be very small.
This increase in the state sector represents less than 0.5% of total UK state school pupils, of which there are over nine million. The number expected to move before the end of the 2024/25 academic year is around 3,000. The government expects the associated revenue costs of pupils entering the state sector to steadily increase to a peak of around £300 million after several years.
Local authorities have statutory duties to ensure that there are sufficient school places for children in their area. They must also, on request, provide information to parents about the availability of places in schools in their area.
Parents that require a state-funded place for their child must apply to the admission authority of the school for which they want to apply. Admission authorities must deal with applications in line with their published admissions policy. Admissions policies can prioritise applicants on a range of factors, including by distance from home. However, no pupil is guaranteed a place at their nearest state-funded school.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 4.11 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, HC 295, whether the £69 million to continue delivery of a network of Family Hubs will be used to include (a) more and (b) all local authorities in the programme.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Budget announcement includes £69 million to continue delivery of a network of Family Hubs. The announcement is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-budget-2024.
Decisions on the breakdown of this funding are yet to be taken. The department will provide further details in due course.