Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to exempt foreign schools, including members of International French Schools UK, from the requirement for independent schools to pay VAT on their fees; and what discussions they have had on this both with the foreign schools concerned and with the ambassadors of their countries.

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 international schools in the UK who provide education and vocational services for a charge.

This will secure additional funding to help deliver the Government’s commitments relating to education and young people, including opening 3,000 new nurseries, rolling out breakfast clubs to all primary schools, and recruiting 6,500 new teachers.

A technical note setting out the details of this policy has been published online here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees-removing-the-charitable-rates-relief-for-private-schools.

Draft VAT legislation has also been published alongside this technical note forming a technical consultation. The Government is engaging with a wide range of stakeholders as part of this consultation, to assess the impacts of these reforms.