Council spends £8000pa on a taxi due to VAT on private schools

[Iwishicouldflyhigh]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14403627/Labours-VAT-raid-teenage-girl-private-school-council-fund-8-000-taxi-bill.html

So now a place is being taken up in an overscribed school, a 15 year old has had her eduction severely disrupted and the local council has 8k less in the pot.

Well done Labour!!! One of many stories, i'm sure and so predictable.

The world is in a terrible position, genocide, proposed ethnic cleansing to make a resort, famine, invasion, women’s rights being eroded left right and centre … but the worst ire is kept for those who go to, or went to, private schools.

IF SHE HADNT APPLIED FOR MORE NEARER SCHOOLS SHE WOULDNT HAVE QUALIFIED FOR TRANSPORT

The question here is were there really no closer schools,no matter how undesirable to the parents, that had a place?

I'm guessing the LA really wished they'd intervened and found the in year place. Because now if they find a closer one, the parent will doubtless kick up a fuss about how they can't possibly disturb their child's education AGAIN. 🙄

For all we know, they always wanted their kid to go to that state school and only put her in private school after they didn't get her a place for year 7.

She only got funded transport after she appealed twice. The family clearly have the money to throw at appeals until they win, so it was probably cheaper for the LA to give in instead of deal with appeals ad infinitum.

The family sound horrific.

Not necessarily. They had to appeal twice. A lot can be achieved by making noise and knowing the right people.

Says someone without a clue what rural public transport is like.

You mean so she could attend school every second Thursday from 11am until 1:30pm when she would have to leave to catch the bus home?

I’m not sure why people aren’t getting this point!

It'll be cheaper to buy her a car and driving lessons.

This made me laugh, sounds like where I live, some people have no idea.

She was in the Telegraph yesterday, which the local Tory MP shared and admitted she’d helped the family.

Let’s hope her polo trip to South Africa in May doesn’t result in a fine for being out of school! How will they afford that Will Lincolnshire have to pay for their flights too or will
they manage that?

I don't think they would have had any choice if they couldn't afford the fees.

It is up to the council to find her a place. If they failed to find her a place closer then she is entitled to free transport. If the council don’t bother looking then more fool them.

As for getting stuff from the council just because you appealed twice - tell that to a parent of a child with SEN. I bet you would get a hollow laugh.

This is a wealthy family taking the piss massively

Well there's a surprise. Certain people will always get their own way in the end.

We live in a neighbouring county and I can see easily how this could happen - the current year 9 is a really big birth year, Lincolnshire is a grammar school county, it is rural and schools are spread out. In our county, a lack of year 7 spaces a few years ago meant that on-time applicants missed out on their catchment school and were offered places 30 miles away, and we don’t even have selective schools here.

I know a family worth in excess of £100milliom who attend my DC state school and get free transport there too. Are they taking the piss massively too?

I literally live rurally with the shitty buses and all that that entails.

I had to appeal for my sons transport to his SEN school. I won because we are on UC and my son gets pip for his disability.

Do we won the appeal because largely we shouldn't have been forced to appeal. I have no sway with any chums at the LA. In fact they despise me. And I'm poor

So what did you expect her to do with a bus pass?

Possibly but they aren’t doing multiple sad face stories pleading poverty are they ?

They told that poor girl to pick her school or her home ?? That’s the bit that I find abhorrent why do that to a 13 year old ?

Why possibly? Do you think state education should be means tested? So if not this family, do you think many well-paid employees of this family’s firm should get free state education? What about the owners of businesses supplying the family’s business and their employees? Or the people working in local shops that are supported by people who work for the wealthy family?

For sure we know that there was at least one closer school that the parents happily paid for without any recourse to public funds until...you guessed it - labour made it impossible for them to continue. Labour was so eager to grab VAT money off her parents, they didn't even have the decency to give a full academic year's notice before hiking the fees up 20%. The story says that she did apply to other closer schools without any luck and so was qualified for the free transport to the only school to accept her. But even if she hadn't, why should she go to just any inadequate school when she is fully entitled to get the free transport service that gets her to a better one? This situation is exactly what labour must have wanted to happen because they created it. Else, we have to accept how just how clueless the labour government really is.