Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of additional places which will be required by local authorities to accommodate children forced to leave independent schools as a consequence of the imposition of VAT on education fees.

This government is committed to ending the VAT exemption that private schools enjoy. While the impact of this policy is being fully considered, projections by the Institute for Fiscal Studies indicate that the number of pupils who may switch schools as a result of these changes is likely to represent a very small proportion of overall pupil numbers in the state sector, less than 0.5%, with any displacement expected to take place over several years. This research can be found here: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/tax-private-school-fees-and-state-school-spending and in the attached report.

The department will be monitoring demand and capacity using our normal processes and working with local authorities to meet any pressures.