Since it was first announced, I've received a great deal of correspondence from parents worried about Labour’s decision to impose 20% VAT on private school fees from January 2025.
I am strongly opposed to this policy, which seeks to tax aspiration and opportunity. It will make school fees unaffordable for many hardworking families, and will inevitably place pressure on our state schools. This issue is particularly acute in counties like ours where around 20%1 of children are privately educated compared to 7% nationally. There simply aren't enough state school places locally for displaced students, which means that larger class sizes will be the only solution. No-one will benefit from this.
Moreover, we can expect further negative impact upon the children faced with a sudden and unplanned move into a new school environment. They will be expected to cope with being moved away from the friends they have made, the teachers they know and trust - and in some cases even the curriculum they are being taught. Such drastic change has potential academic and emotional consequences for the children involved.
Some of these negative consequences could in part be mitigated by giving more time before implementation. January 2025 is only a few months away. A delay would at least allow parents and schools to properly plan, thereby minimising the impact on as many pupils as possible. This would be the decent thing for the new Government to do.
It is also clear that (rather ironically in the case of the Prime Minister) the Government has little appreciation for the generous bursary system offered by independent schools to so many of the UK's disadvantaged children. Reigate Grammar School is a good example of one such school offering life changing opportunities through their bursaries. Any education policy that leads to a restriction in opportunities for the most disadvantaged is not a policy that should be pursued.
The Greatest Injustice: A Policy That Will Harm Our SEND Children
Clearly this policy is going to negatively impact a large cohort of pupils - but it is those children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) that will be the hardest hit.
I have spoken with many SEND parents and they tell me time and again that one of the greatest challenges is finding a school which can fully meet the complex needs of their child. Ultimately, many make considerable sacrifices to send their children into the private sector having concluded that this is the best way for their child to receive the support they need. These are often not wealthy families, and 20% VAT will be the difference between them just about being able to pay the fees and having no choice but to withdraw their children. The prospect of children with complex and special needs being forced out of specialist schools where they are thriving, learning and developing is incredibly distressing.
Today there are around 100,000 pupils in the UK attending specialist independent schools, like Moon Hall School and Bramley Hill School. The vast majority (93%) do not have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This means that 93% of those attending specialist independent schools because of SEND issues would not qualify for any exemption under the proposed policy.
In Surrey, the process of obtaining an EHCP from first referral to final award can take around two years. But frustratingly, VAT is due to be imposed in a matter of months. The Government have not allowed sufficient time for parents of SEND children to try and mitigate the impact of this sudden change. And inevitably, the demand for EHCPs will rise, placing even more pressure on an already under-strain local authority.
It is also deeply concerning that when thousands of SEND children end up in mainstream education, there will be no specialist resources to support them, such resources only being available once an EHCP has been approved.
I was pleased to unite with fellow Surrey Conservative MPs Claire Coutinho, Jeremy Hunt, Dr Ben Spencer, Lincoln Jopp MC and Greg Stafford in sending a joint letter to the Chancellor that makes a clear and compelling case against the policy in general - and that specifically calls for an immediate exception for children with SEND attending independent specialist schools – whether or not they have an EHCP.
We await the Chancellor's response with interest and hope that she will carefully consider the concerns we have raised before proceeding with a policy that could be extremely detrimental to many children.
If you would like to read our letter to the Chancellor, it can be downloaded below.
