Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to apply VAT to small private schools offering Montessori education where pre-school age children are in the same classes as older children.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From 1 January 2025, the 20% standard rate of VAT will apply to all education services, vocational training, and boarding services provided by private schools for a charge. This will apply to any fees charged after 29 July 2024 for terms starting after 1 January 2025.
The government has listened to feedback regarding the definition of “nursery class” used in the draft legislation. To ensure the legislation achieves the policy intent of keeping nursery education exempt from VAT across the UK, the definition of a nursery class has been amended to: “a class that is composed wholly (or almost wholly) of children who are under compulsory school age or, in Scotland, school age, and would not be expected to attain that age while in that class”. Therefore, providing the majority of children in the nursery class are under compulsory school age and aren’t expected to turn compulsory school age that year, the whole nursery class will remain exempt from VAT. Nursery schools not attached to a private school will remain exempt from VAT, regardless of the age of their pupils.
Further detail can be found in the government’s summary of responses published here: Government_Response_to_the_Technical_Note_on_Applying_VAT_to_Private_School_Fees_and_Removing_the_Business_Rates_Charitable_Rate_Relief.pdf
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent fiscal steps he has taken to support small businesses.
Answered by David Gauke
The Government's long-term economic plan is backing small businesses as they set up and grow. As part of this plan we are cutting taxes and reducing red tape to help businesses.
In particular, the employment allowance was introduced in April 2014, and allows businesses and charities throughout the UK to deduct up to £2,000 off their employer national insurance contributions (NICs) bill each year.
In addition, autumn statement 2013 announced the extension of the doubling of small business rate relief until April 2015, taking 350,000 small businesses out of business rates.