What adding VAT to private school fees could mean for them - and for state schools
The changes will cost private schools but benefit state schools, to the tune of £1.3 billion a year.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hello, my name's Amber Allitt and I'm a journalist specialising in education.
00:04So before it was elected, Labour had a pretty expansive portfolio of ideas for reforming
00:09education in the UK.
00:11Now it's making good on one of its key promises, which is closing tax loopholes for private
00:16schools, like the current exemption from the 20% VAT on fees charged to parents, which
00:22is going to come into place from next year.
00:25Now this move has actually proved pretty controversial.
00:28On one hand, some private schools are raising their fees in response, which many families
00:32on a more moderate income have said might edge their children out of their current schools.
00:37There's even been some legal action on behalf of both families of children with special
00:42educational needs and military families, who also both frequently choose private schools
00:47due to their family's unique needs.
00:50But on the other hand, the government says that some 9 out of 10 children in the UK attend
00:55state-funded schools, and these taxes are going to bring in more than a billion pounds
00:59a year to improve them.
01:02This could go towards some of Labour's other goals for schools, like training new teachers,
01:08funding mental health workers in schools, and potentially even improving access to sport
01:12and the arts.
01:13It's an issue that very much has two sides, but one thing's for sure, it's not going
01:18to be an easy one to find a solution that works for every family.