Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of imposing VAT on private school fees on the UK’s global reputation.

On 30th October, at Budget, the Government confirmed that, as of 1 January 2025, all education, boarding, and vocational training provided for a charge by a private school in the UK will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent.

International schools make an important contribution to the connections between the UK and its international partners, which the Government remains committed to strengthening and deepening further. While they can be subsidised by foreign governments, depending on their funding structure, many international schools still charge fees comparable to that of a lot of British private schools, many of which do not necessarily follow the UK curriculum, nor teach exclusively in English. It would therefore be unfair to carve international schools out of policy changes whilst comparable independent schools remain within scope.