Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the average annual cost to independent schools of proposed changes in business rates.

On 29 July 2024, the Government announced that eligibility for business rates charitable rate relief will be removed from private schools in England.

The increased business rates liability will vary from school to school and will be determined by their underlying Rateable Value, set by the Valuation Office Agency independently of central government. The government will confirm the introduction of these tax policy changes at the Budget, at which point the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will certify the government’s costings and impact analysis for these measures.

This was a tough but necessary decision that will help to secure additional funding to support the delivery of the Government’s commitments relating to education and young people, including opening 3,000 new nurseries, rolling out breakfast clubs to all primary schools, and recruiting 6,500 new teachers.