Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 21 October (HL1211) and the publication of the policy paper on applying VAT to private school fees on 30 October, what evidence they used to conclude that the impact of applying VAT to independent school fees will be smaller in Scotland than in England; and whether this will be case for all local authority areas in Scotland.

The government has conducted thorough and detailed analysis of the impacts of this policy. A Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN) has been published which sets out this comprehensive analysis. This can be found here: Applying VAT to private school fees - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The government has also published a detailed response to the consultation conducted between July and September. This can be found here: Government Response to the Technical Note on Applying VAT to Private School Fees and Removing the Business Rates Charitable Rate Relief (publishing.service.gov.uk). Annexed to the consultation response is a detailed explanation of the costing methodology used, including the estimation of pupil movements resulting from the policy.

Alongside the technical consultation, government ministers and officials met with a wide range of stakeholders representing schools, local authorities and Devolved Governments.

The impacts of this policy may vary between different parts of the UK as a result of different local circumstances. Some areas of the UK have a higher concentration of private schools and a higher proportion of local pupils attending private schools; there are also variations in local state sector capacity.

Impacts in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will generally be smaller than in England because those nations have a lower proportion of pupils in private schools, but again there will be regional variation. National differences in education policy will also shape impacts.