Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the application of VAT on private school fees on the (a) accessibility and (b) quality of state education.

As set out in HM Treasury’s tax information and impact note published on GOV.UK, the introduction of VAT is anticipated to have a very limited impact on the number of pupils in state and private schools. The department has not seen any evidence that contradicts the expectations set out in the government’s impact assessment.

Ending tax breaks on private schools will help raise around £1.8 billion per year by the 2029/30 financial year for investment in public services, including state-funded education which serves 94% of children. This will help break down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education.

​Local authorities are responsible for securing school places for children in their area. Pupil numbers in schools fluctuate for a number of reasons, and the school funding system is already set up to manage that. The department provides capital funding through the basic need grant to support the provision of mainstream school places, based on local authorities’ own pupil forecasts and school capacity data.