I do hope that the 'wealthy' Private schools use reclaimed VAT for Bursaries and for 'Community' work. Thus, highlighting the benefits they bring to education in the United Kingdom
I don't. I hope they use it to reduce fees for parents.
That's how VAT is meant to work - it's paid on the whole value added in creating the good or service, but each company along the chain of producing it charges VAT only on the value they themselves have added, so that it all adds up at the end - paid for by the end consumer. The school was the end consumer previously, and so paid VAT on building works etc. But now the government is saying the entire educational offering is the VAT-able product and the parent is the end consumer.
It' would be completely against how VAT is meant to work if the school didn't deduct the VAT they paid on VAT-able goods like sports centre building ... which they use to produce the final offering of an education (which parents pay VAT on). If they included the poat-VAT cost into the fees - and VAT was charged on the whole lot - then the parents would be paying that VAT twice (more than twice actually, since they would even be paying VAT on the VAT!!). Absolutely no one does that.
And private schools don't need to prove any more "benefits they bring to education in the United Kingdom". The benefit private schools bring to education in the UK is to educate their students well, creating more effective citizens and workers of the future. That's enough. It's much, much more public benefit than many charities bring who aren't being penalised by Labour, such as donkey sanctuaries. No bursaries or community work is needed. None.