Lord Hamilton of Epsom
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Independent Schools
Lord Hamilton of Epsom Excerpts(9 months ago)
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Baroness Barran (Con)
Of course independent schools charge fees, which parents pay for out of income that has already been taxed. The question here is why pick on independent schools to charge VAT, rather than other forms of education such as tutoring, for example.
Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)
My Lords, the noble Baroness made the point that the surpluses that were going to be created by raising VAT on private schools would be spent in the state sector. Does my noble friend agree that if too many independent schools close and pupils are transferred to the state sector, there will not be any surplus whatever?
Baroness Barran (Con)
That is a real risk. Your Lordships may have seen recent research published by the Adam Smith Institute that pointed this out.