Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether children in independent schools on waiting lists for an educational, health and care plan assessment will have VAT added to school fees.

On 29 July, the Government announced that, as of 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by a private school in the UK for a charge will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. This will also apply to boarding services provided by private schools.

This policy will not impact pupils with the most acute additional needs, where their needs can only be met in private schools. For instance, in England, where a child’s place in a private school is funded by their Local Authority (LA) because it is named in their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

The fees of pupils waiting for an EHCP will be subject to VAT. However, LAs aim to process all EHCP applications in time for the start of the next school year so that parents can make an informed decision as to which school they send their child to. In certain circumstances, the LA is able to prepay one term’s fees if the EHCP is not yet complete, but the outcome is foreseeable. Likewise, some private schools will forgo the first term’s fees for pupils that are expected to be granted an EHCP in the future.