Independent School Fees: VAT

Lord Addington Excerpts

Thursday 13th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords—

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords—

[Lord Naseby (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

The Tories have had a say.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

I am not a Tory, thank you. I remind the House of my declared interests in this field. Special educational needs is one of the big sectors where the private system has been used by the state system to reinforce its own effectiveness. You get support only if you have an EHC plan. These are agreed by everybody as being extremely expensive and difficult to implement. Why are the Government giving support only to those with special educational needs who ask for such plans to be imposed on the state system and encouraging people who do not have them in the private sector to take them out?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

The policy remains as it was. It will not impact pupils with the most acute additional needs. Where pupils’ places in private schools are funded by local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales because their needs can be met only in a private school, local authorities will be able to reclaim that VAT. In terms of those without one of those systems in place, on average, the Government expect private school fees to increase by around 10% as a result of this measure.