Finance Bill

Debate between Shivani Raja and Edward Morello

Committee of the whole House
Wednesday 11th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Shivani Raja]

We are talking about people who have often sacrificed luxuries and gone without to afford the education that they believe is best for their children. This is not the preserve of billionaire hedge fund managers; we are talking about nurses, small business owners and tradespeople who have managed their finances meticulously to secure a particular educational path. They are the very working families who Labour claims it would never tax.

This new measure is fundamentally a tax on education, and the reality on the ground is deeply concerning. As a result of Labour’s policy of slapping VAT on independent school fees, the careful financial planning of hard-working people in my constituency has been shattered. Children are being forced out of stable, nurturing learning environments mid-term. Their friendships and routines are being severed, not by parental choice or educational necessity, but by a Chancellor’s whim. To add insult to injury, some families find themselves unable to secure a state school place locally, leaving them in educational limbo as a result of the Chancellor’s twisted game. I have already heard from one mother who, no longer able to afford her daughter’s independent school, cannot find a suitable state alternative in her catchment area. As we have heard in the Chamber today, that is not an isolated case, but a troubling sign of the turbulence that this policy is creating.

What do the Government propose for the children who are caught in the crossfire of envy-driven politics? Labour’s attempt to penalise perceived privilege has ended up punishing ordinary, aspirational families. Meanwhile, the notion that this policy will somehow improve state education is fanciful at best. Instead of supporting better standards and opportunities for all, this tax is about pitting one group of parents against another—and what is worse, this was done without a proper impact assessment. Instead of looking at the real-world consequences—the strain on families, the sudden influx of pupils into our already stretched state schools and the emotional turmoil placed on children—the Government rushed forward, blinded by the politics of envy. I call on Ministers to think again. This is not about reform or fairness; it is an attack on parental choice and on hard-working families who dare to hope for something different for their children. If Labour truly stands for working people, it must listen to their voices, look at the damage this will cause and scrap a measure that so clearly undermines the interests of children and families in Leicester East and beyond.

[Edward Morello]

The proposal to impose VAT on independent school fees is a misguided approach that risks harming families, undermining educational freedom and failing to address the deeper issues in our education system. Let me start by acknowledging that our state education system is in dire need of funding. Years of mismanagement by previous Governments have left schools struggling with inadequate resources, overworked teachers, and outdated and undersized facilities.

We must confront this crisis, and I fully agree that we need long-term sustainable funding to support our schools, but introducing VAT on independent school fees is not the answer. This measure will not impact elite institutions or those at the very top of the income ladder. The wealthiest families will simply absorb the cost. Instead, it is middle-income families—parents who are saving every penny, working multiple jobs and making sacrifices to help their children—who will be impacted, as well as families whose children have special or complex needs that cannot be serviced in state schools.

Smaller and more affordable independent schools, which already operate on tight budgets and cater to working families, will be at risk of closure. Those closures will displace students into the already overstretched state sector, exacerbating the very challenges that this policy is supposed to address. Independent schools also contribute to their local communities. They work in partnership with state schools, offering shared resources, facilities, teaching support and extracurricular activities. Instead of imposing VAT, we should encourage more of these collaborations to strengthen both the state sector and the independent system.

The Liberal Democrats believe in parental choice and in policies that unite, not divide, our communities. We must focus on finding equitable solutions to fund our state schools, but we must do so without undermining the choices and aspirations of families or the stability of our broader education system. Families should have the freedom to choose the best educational path for their children without being penalised by the state. I urge the Government to work with all parties to find a fairer way to address the funding crisis in our schools—one that does not come at the expense of parents, students and the principles of educational freedom.