Independent Schools: VAT Exemption

Lord Maude of Horsham Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Maude of Horsham (Con)]

My Lords, the register carries my declarations that I am chair of governors at Brighton College, a large and successful independent school—which is obviously in Brighton. I was previously chair of governors at my old school, Abingdon, which when I and my brother were there was a direct grant school, a status that was abolished by the Labour Government in the 1970s. It occurs to me to wonder why successive Labour Governments have been more associated with destroying categories of schools—first the grammar schools and direct grant schools and now, in all likelihood, some proportion of the independent sector—rather than creating schools, which would be more natural for a party which, as my noble friend Lord Forsyth suggested, claimed to be for “Education, education, education”.

Of course, this was a manifesto commitment, and the Government will rely on that. I remember being told when I was in government that relying on the manifesto commitment is the last refuge of the scoundrel; it is there but it did not have to be done this way. The precipitate haste with which this has been pursued and the lack of any kind of impact assessment when the effects are manifestly clear just from the speeches being made in this Chamber today—I particularly pick out the powerful speech from the noble Lord, Lord Addington, based on deep knowledge and deep passion on the effects of it—mean that it is important that the effects should be understood. It is assumed that there will be a cash dividend from this but that is by no means clear. You would think that a Government who claim to be committed to the writ of the Office of Budget Responsibility might want to hear what it has to say about this before progressing at this kind of speed.

I want to say a word about some of the other things that the independent sector contributes to the benefit of society. Brighton College was responsible for establishing the London Academy of Excellence in Stratford in Newham, providing an excellent sixth-form education for some of the most disadvantaged children in that very disadvantaged borough. It now ranks among the top 10 schools of all kinds for A-level outcomes this year. The percentage of LAE students eligible for free school meals is more than five times higher than any other school in that top 10.

The LAE was founded by the Brighton College headmaster, Richard Cairns, who has led it from being a middle-ranking school to absolutely top of the tree in just 18 years, and a Brighton College governor. It receives a cash donation from the Brighton College community, and five Brighton College governors serve on various committees there. It would not have happened without Brighton College, and large numbers of bright, gifted children from disadvantaged backgrounds have benefited from it.

Brighton College has offered 24 refugees from Ukraine places with 120% scholarships. It also offers Opening Doors scholarships to disadvantaged children from local families—I am delighted to see my noble friend Lord Soames here as we both had children going through Brighton College and he now serves as president of the college—and many of those children have secured places at top universities.

Finally, I want to say a quick word about the value of education as an export. The Government do not quite understand the prestige and the cachet that attach to British education around the world, both in attracting students from overseas to schools here and in the growing number of UK schools that operate around the world, particularly in Asia. There is a hard-currency benefit to that in terms of cash coming into the country, and there are softer benefits of great value from the lifelong networks that these young people develop and the bonds of affection that flow from them.

I can see that this must have felt like a free hit at the time, but it is not turning out that way. I advise the Government to think again.