Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 3666 on Private Education: VAT, what steps she plans to take to monitor the impact of the policy changes on military families.

HMRC routinely monitors the impact of policy changes. The measure to remove the VAT exemption for education and boarding services provided by private schools will be kept under review through communication with affected stakeholder groups and stakeholders as well as education departments across the devolved governments.

The government greatly values the contribution of diplomatic staff and serving personnel and provides the Continuity of Education allowance (CEA) to ensure that the need for frequent mobility does not interfere with the education of their children.

As the government set out in its Summary of Responses to the Technical Note on Applying VAT to Private School Fees, the MoD has increased the funding allocated to the CEA to account for the impact of any private school fee increases on the proportion of fees covered by the CEA, in line with how the allowance normally operates.

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) has been published which gives a clear explanation of the policy objective together with comprehensive assessment of the impacts on the Exchequer, individuals and families, businesses and the wider economy, equalities impacts, and any other specific area of impact. The TIIN can be found here: Applying VAT to private school fees - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).