Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential disruption to the education sector of introducing the VAT levy on independent school fees in the middle of the academic year.

The Government carefully considered the timing of implementation of VAT on private school fees and decided to apply VATfrom January 2025, in order to raise the funding needed to help deliver its education priorities. As a result of the January start date, the VAT policy is forecast to raise £460 million in 2024/25.

Schools and parents had five months to prepare for these changes, and HMRC put in place measures to support schools, including bespoke guidance, updated registration systems, and additional resources to process applications.