To be completely shocked by this - Bridget can’t tell us the impact of the government’s VAT on Education?

[Sasskitty]

Bridget Phillipson dodges question on impact of private school tax raid

As parents and schools complain of chaos, Ms Phillipson refuses to spell out details of the assessment made by the department for education

Bridget Phillipson failed to spell out the full impact of the government’s private school VAT raid, dodging the question when asked about the possible implications for special education schools.

While she said the government has “looked at all of the potential impacts”, her answer failed to provide any real detail on the expected consequences.

It comes as parents and schools complain about the implications of the tax raid, which came into force on New Year’s Day and is expected to raise £1.5bn for the Treasury.

YABU - Bridget Phillipson has it all in hand. She just didn’t feel like answering the pesky question. The point is to piss rich people off. Leave Labour alone, they want nothing but erm oh I’m not sure.

YANBU - Phillipson clearly has no idea what the impact of VAT on Education will be. Nor does she really care as long as she’s seen to be punishing those horrible rich people. Or even better (it seems) the not really rich ones just trying to improve the education of their children as the available state schools were not suitable.

https://apple.news/AO7fcmrzuRaik4stLaPQxwA

(sorry paywall but there’s not much more in the article)

PS. I’ve removed the poll tally, no one needs to see real data. Do they?

This is a popular policy, I doubt they'll row back on it.

So was the non dom one. They still got it wrong and rowed back

Stubbornness in support of bad policy is no great thing.

Ik people really are clinging on to this poor policy. It’s a distraction and one with worse outcomes. You have a point

I'm not sure they've got the political capital to deal with the fall-out from military families resigning, SEN kids on the news having to leave their schools and the ultimate problem being the net cost of the policy to tax payers. If they were riding high in the polls maybe, but most people hate them. Why have an unnecessary fight now when you've got the economy and immigration and the NHS to sort out. And Ukraine. As I said, fiddling while Rome burns.

And Ukraine being a good one where Keir Starmer wants to send our troops to Ukraine on one hand but on the other hand wants to stuff up the education of the children of those troops.

But not US military children here....

I think that’s quite rude. You’re attempting to police who contributes.

Not really. I'm just interested in what motivates someone to have such a strong view on a subject irrelevant to them. Particularly when it involves a government policy that is going to wreck the education of British children. I'm.sure you have your reasons so I was just interested in knowing what would override a normal sense of humanity. I just can't understand why people do it on these sorts of threads.

You're not the only one don't worry.

Well (a) a cat may look at a king. And (b) the prevailing idea on these kinds of threads is that disabled children and those with ALN can’t possibly be properly provided for in the state system and their parents have no choice but to use the private sector. And I’m here as an example of that not always being the case.

I dislike the way that disabled children are often used as a cover for non-progressive views so of course I’m going to refute the idea of there being nothing suitable in the state sector. Despite the current crisis, there is still some fantastic provision.

That's a different sort of thread though. Not appropriate for this one, perhaps. I'd start my own thread about SEN provision in state schools?

But that provision is a post code lottery and extremely sporadic across the country. Surely you realise that? Because of this some parents choose to go to indy.

Why? I’m fine posting here.

Not appropriate because it challenges you. It’s entirely appropriate to discuss state provision on a thread so insistent that only the private sector is capable of meeting the needs of a group of children.

@Hoppingabout they will be facing a lot, many do hate them

They should just drop it and focus on bigger stuff

According to a campaign group arm of the NEU "Chancellor Reeves is forcing 76% of primary schools and 94% of secondary schools to make cuts this year"

Please tell me how Labour are improving state schools?

It doesn't challenge me at all. It's a policy that is and will backfire. Everyone knows this. There's no cogent argument in support of VAT on school fees. I just question why you are bothering to involve yourself if you.have no experience of or connection with private schools. I appreciate it might be idealogical but surely even leftist idealogy needs a positive outcome?

I believe the positive outcome is to show that if you choose to access paid-for provision, you need to pay the appropriate taxes.
It may or may not raise revenue to begin with. It’s as yet untested. But it enables us as a society to recognise the privilege inherent in choosing private education. That’s positive.

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-new-cuts?

Then you have to also tax private healthcare, nurseries, universities and care homes. To single out education is discriminatory

Carry on then. But you are deliberately posting on a thread irrelrvant to your life and experience and knowledge and where there will be a lot of parents very upset for their children and where your children are entirely unaffected.

And in order to push your idealogy you see nothing wrong with rubbing salt into wounds. If it was a policy that would work and raise money perhaps I could see some tiny bit of sense. But it wont. And it has so much collateral damage not only for the children but the support staff and teachers and also for the state school children facing an influx of children. No cogent argument is every put forward so I see it more as you and other posters are using it for sport.

It's none of your business. Other than the extra tax you will need to pay (if you are a taxpayer) due to having to fund kids that hitherto were educated for free.

Why?

Tax on a luxury. Which is the argument used isn't it? Buying privilege?

It absolutely is my business. I’d prefer not to live in a society where private education can bring about life long advantage and privilege.

Are care homes luxuries?

Because they too are people paying for a privilege. You can't pick and choose if you are taking this stance.
You then also have to tax anyone who owns their own home, or has their own car.
You have to tax people who can afford to buy a house in catchment of best state schools
You have to tax parents who can buy cultural capital for their kids

Private ones are if one follows your argument