VAT: Independent Schools

Peter Fortune Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)]

My children have been educated in both the state and independent sectors. I spoke earlier in the Westminster Hall debate about how Labour’s plan to impose VAT on independent schools is a tax on aspiration, but it is also something else: a lack of understanding of how to govern. The Government’s education tax is not just a lousy decision; it is a lousy plan.

As has already been said, imposing the VAT in January—the middle of the school year—risks disrupting children’s education and forcing mainstream schools to accept mid-year students. It denies parents time to prepare and does not allow independent schools time to register for VAT. Families of more than 5,000 pupils studying at independent schools in the London borough of Bromley and my constituency must find up to £4,345 more per year to protect their children’s education, or take the gruesome decision to remove their child from their friends and the school they enjoy, even at crucial moments such as GCSE and A-level years. Is that really what the Government want? One concerned parent told me that, with their children just two terms away from their GCSEs and A-levels, finding a local state school with the capacity to take them on and that is studying exactly the same exam boards would be impossible.

In truth, the Government have no idea how many pupils might leave. The Institute for Fiscal Studies, which the Government rely on, estimated that up to 40,000 people would leave independent schools, but it admits that there is too little evidence to be sure and that the situation is uncertain. In 2018, the Independent Schools Council estimated that, if this change were imposed, pupil numbers would drop by more than 134,000 over five years. Whatever the number, it is a safe bet that this will be a slow burner, with some pupils forced out immediately, others leaving after exams, and those who will never enrol, resulting in years of uncertainty for schools, their staff, students and teachers, as many smaller schools will simply wither away.

Even a moderate number of exits threatens to close small independent schools. The likely result will be fewer pupils, fewer schools and more significant pressure on mainstream schools. This is a reckless recipe that will disrupt the education of pupils with special educational needs, pitch parents against councils and burden mainstream schools. When the Labour party said that it would not tax working people, we had no idea that its targets were children and pensioners. This is ideological, not practical, and it will impact far more pupils than the Government will admit to or recognise. Let us be clear: in a few short weeks, when children up and down the country will be saying goodbye to their friends, when they will be struggling with the anxiety of being forced to go to a strange new school, and when, through no fault of their own, they will be suffering academic pressure in an exam year, it will be the result of Government policy. As one headteacher said to me, this policy is nothing short of cruel.

Independent Schools: VAT and Business Rates Exemptions

Peter Fortune Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)]

I should be clear that both my children attend independent schools. Like many parents who make the same choice, my wife and I, with the support of our families, made sacrifices to enrol them. We did so because, with that support, we could.

Make no mistake: I recognise it is a privilege to have that opportunity. Like many parents, I want to give my children something I did not have growing up—an excellent education. My schooling in Lambeth, where I grew up on a council estate, left a lot to be desired. As I grew older, I realised that an excellent education was the way out. With my children, I spent what I had to give them the best possible education. Crucially, our decision for our family did not impact anyone else.

Sending children to independent school—a personal and privileged choice—is not a bad thing that should be taxed and regulated out of existence, as Labour also want to do with smoking or by introducing a two thirds of a pint measure. It does not mean that state schools are poorer. In fact, we pay our taxes and opt out, leaving more space and school resources for others. Independent schools also offer bursaries and donate the use of their facilities to other local schools. Those who think differently have an ideological obsession, and I am afraid that this new Labour Government share it. They are not thinking about lifting schools up, but tearing some down. Remember, in 2019, it was the Labour party that voted to abolish independent schools.

Instead of the complete destruction they desire, the Government have settled, for now, on taxing these schools to the brink by imposing VAT on fees and removing their charitable status. What they picture are Eton schoolkids fresh from the family estate, high on their parents’ aspirations. They do not picture the kid done good from a council estate who also has high aspirations, the shopworker doing the extra shifts to give her kids the chance she never had or the parents giving up everything to get the extra SEN care they want to provide for their child.

This is ideological, not practical. It is knocking people down, not lifting our country up. Worst of all, it is ill-considered. As one local headteacher told me, this policy is nothing short of cruel.