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.

Interesting thread given all those saying the parents in 'taxigate' case 'ignored the system'...

www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/5277043-moving-secondary-schools-at-short-notice

No. It’s about making it difficult for private schools to exist by pricing out more people and forcing closures. It suits the left wing of the party. The amount of money raised will be very low and isn’t even kept for education. To improve state schools, a general income tax rise will be needed. That would help provide more teachers and improve workload (which will attract more teachers). But that rise in taxes would need to impact everyone and Labour won’t want to do that as it will lose them votes. This targets the people they feel are less likely to vote Labour anyway. See also ‘pensioners’.

A system in which she feels her child’s needs would not be met if she followed it. And that is a big IF she purposely side stepped the other schools.

She wants the best for her daughter. That is a good look.

So you think it's a good look to bend the rules to get what you want and then plaster your child over the internet forever whining about getting what you want?

Lincolnshire LEA still has a process for in year applications:

In-year applications

Lincolnshire County Council operates non-statutory coordination of these applications. Those who would like a school place in Lincolnshire may apply online using the Lincolnshire parent portal on the LCC website or obtain a paper form from 01522 782030. Those who would like places in schools outside of Lincolnshire should apply to the LA in which the school is situated.

All Lincolnshire schools may choose to accept direct applications from parents. If the school do refuse or accept a child directly, they must provide the details of the child to the Local Authority. If a school is contacted by the parent/carer and they are unable to offer a place to a child without a school place, the parent/carer must be advised to contact the school admission team who will co-ordinate a central in-year admission application.

If Lincolnshire have a duty to educate the child and they are not attending a school within a reasonable distance of their home, then the admissions team will allocate a place at the closest school with spaces available if none of the parental preferences can be met. It is for the parent to provide information which establishes the duty to educate the child. Information about what is required to establish this duty will be clearly communicated to parents.

Details of schools operating within Lincolnshire County Council co-ordination will be displayed on the Lincolnshire County Council Website.

https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/downloads/file/7595/secondary-co-ordinated-scheme-2024-25

Seems more a case of thinking her dd is too good for certain schools rather than wanting the best for her …

@TENSsion "She wants the best for her daughter. That is a good look"

I presume you feel the same way about people who are-economical with the truth-on their benefit applications?

How do breakfast clubs do that?

You mean the schools without spaces?

@Washinghanginginthesun "LlamaDharma
Isn’t that was the VAT on private schools is about. Improving state schools?

How do breakfast clubs do that?"

Is that a genuine question?

None of them had spaces and she only went on the waiting list for the one she wanted. There may very well have been a space sooner at a closer one but we will never know as the LA haven’t made a statement to clarify

If she had applied correctly then the La may been able to admit her dd to a closer school under the FAP

"There may very well have been a space sooner at a closer one but we will never know as the LA haven’t made a statement to clarify"

And can't. Because unlike the lady concerned, they have a duty to keep the case confidential.

@SabrinaThwaite The key phrase in what Lincolnshire say is that parents can directly approach schools. They are not obliged to go through the LA system. Therefore she was presumably told by schools they were full. There’s no way transport would be provided to a school 25 miles away if several nearer schools had spaces. At the time they were contacted, they presumably did not. All Lincolnshire seem to require is details of who has applied from the schools contacted and they don’t have to be proactive in finding a place. I can see why the transport was eventually provided and this whole chaotic and expensive situation is caused by VAT. However central government would not care one jot about the financial cost to a Conservative shire council!

They were entitled to a school place. They didn’t have one nearby. They had to pay for transport. If they had spaces closer, the council should have offered them and the family would have had to accept or paid their own transportation costs. You seem to dislike this poor girl just because she’s been to a private school. If the system is broken, save your energy to work for the system to change. This poor family have faced a lot of disruption and I’m glad they have found a school for their daughter, even if it’s a long journey. If it’s a decent school, even better.

Yes I fully understand that but it does leave some big holes in the story. I assume that’s why they pushed back twice against providing transport . They probably knew nothing of the family until they applied for transport having bypassed the LA for the correct place application process

How do breakfast clubs do what?

How could the LA have offered when they hadn’t applied via them or even asked ?

Then maybe they need to review their application procedures. That isn’t the fault of the family.

Hilarious that you think I dislike a child because they attended a private school. I dislike the mother for multiple reasons - emotionally abusing her dd making a child choose your home or your school! For trying to cheat the system by not using the application process that everyone else has to and being an attention seeker with all the sad face stories she’s entitled and immoral. I feel sorry for the child.

You keep blaming the family for this when the fault lies with the council’s procedures. Well, ultimately the fault lies with a stupid policy from the Labour government but the councils need to have policies in place to deal with the fall out. What a shame it was all rushed through.

They can review them but unsure how they can add being psychic to the procedures as if they aren’t aware of a family till
they turn up asking for transport costs what can they do ?

For trying to cheat the system by not using the application process that everyone else has to

But the council's own rules allow for parents to contact schools directly. Which is what this parent did.

As you can see from the link I posted earlier, it's not the case that everyone knows what any particular council has as its system for in year admissions.

The council weren’t aware of them as they didn’t ask for the nearest place. They sought out the place they wanted, started her there, got her there and back for a short while then made themselves and their demands visible

To contact AND apply . She should have applied to the nearer schools yet didn’t.