School Fees: VAT

Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for his question—I think the short answer is no. We estimated that the introduction of VAT was likely to lead to around 35,000 more pupils in the state sector over the course of this Parliament. This is fewer than 0.5% of all pupils currently in the state sector and will take place gradually over this Parliament. This assessment was certified by the OBR at the time, and we remain extremely confident in it. Pupil movements so far are absolutely in line with this estimate and are in line with trends over the past 20 years. They represent, as I say, a very small proportion of the private school population. It should be noted that not all pupil movements are the result of this policy; they can happen for a large variety of reasons and will reflect wider demographic trends.

[Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, given that the money raised from this will be spent on increasing teacher numbers in state schools and that 93%—although as my noble friend the Minister mentioned 94%, I will go with his statistic—in England attend state schools, does my noble friend agree that this is an excellent example of the Labour Government’s commitment to benefiting the many, not just the few?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I absolutely agree with my noble friend on that point. This is a necessary decision that will generate additional funding to help improve public services, including the Government’s commitments relating to education and young people. This Government are committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and are determined to drive up standards in those schools serving the overwhelming majority of children in this country so that they may receive the opportunities they deserve.