VAT: Independent Schools
David Baines Excerpts(1 week, 1 day ago)
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David Baines (St Helens North) (Lab)
I am delighted to take part in this debate, as I am always grateful for the opportunity to praise and defend our public services, particularly our state schools, and the millions of people, including the vast majority of my constituents, who rely on them.
The Opposition motion
“regrets that the Government has decided to impose VAT on independent school fees”.
Well, I regret that the last Tory Government did all they could to deliberately and carefully dismantle, defund and destroy our public services, including state schools, for 14 years—[Interruption.] There is a huge amount that I could say, but we are pushed for time and many Members want to speak, including lots of Government Members. I know there are more of us here—
David Baines
Indeed.
There is a lot that deserves to be said about our schools. We have heard many Conservative Members ask about the impact. They suddenly care about the impact of decisions made in this place, but where was their talk of impacts over the past 14 years? In St Helens North, 81% of schools have had real-terms funding cuts since 2010—over £3 million in real terms, or £239 for every pupil. Where was the consideration of impacts when the last Government cancelled Labour’s Building Schools for the Future programme and watched our state schools crumble? Where was the talk of impacts when the last Government presided over a SEND system that is failing over 1 million children and that their own Education Secretary described as a “lose-lose-lose”? Where was the concern for impacts when standards fell, which they did?
David Baines
No, I am pushed for time.
Where was the consideration of impacts when the inspection system did not and does not work for parents, schools or pupils? Where was the consideration of impacts when child poverty increased? Where was the consideration of impacts when the lack of investment in school support staff and basic resources meant that teachers were buying resources for their pupils? Where was the consideration of impacts when we had a recruitment and retention crisis among teachers?
We could talk about all these issues if the Conservatives truly wanted a debate on schools, but they do not. They could have used today’s Opposition day debate to talk about these things, but instead they have used their time to talk about our decision to end a tax exemption that benefits only the wealthiest. They showed no concern whatsoever for state schools over the past 14 years, and now they are apparently concerned about impacts.
I make it crystal clear that the parents of state school pupils are every bit as ambitious, loving and hard-working as those who can afford to send their children to private schools. I stand with them, and I stand with our state schools.