How soon might a Labour Government put 20% VAT tax on private school fees?

[jennylamb1]

That really. Given that an election date has been declared for July, how soon might a Labour Government set their first budget?

As soon as they possibly can - I think people might start pulling their children out over the summer in anticipation. We've already seen our uptake for reception drop dramatically this year and if we lose another 10 then unfortunately we'll start making redundancies.

They said within the 1st year. It’s a popular policy. The trick is can they make it actionable within a month?

New term starts in September and I think they will aim to get the VAT on school fees as soon as possible, if they can manage to do it from September they will, if not my bet is 1st April 2025.

theyll have to finalise the policy first (still so many holes in it), then consult.
reckon I’ll have both of mine done or nearly done before it’s in force. So selfishly I’m ok, but feel for those who aren’t.

Answer to that is no. Shouty spite still has to be translated into proper policy.

I don't reckon they will.
They said they would back in the 90s, as I remember my parents talking about it, and had plenty of time to consider it with their "education education education" and never did.

And the people it will drive out from private schools will be disproportionally the people who aren't well off but have sacrificed on other things to do it, especially people who's dc for whatever reason, often SEN, aren't coping in mainstream.
The real rich people will hardly notice.

So they'll be adding more children, to our already full and underfunded schools. That's really going to help the state system, isn't it? They're probably hoping a number will just home school them so they can forget about them.
They'll also have to fund however many more school places in places which are already over full, putting more strain on schools especially subjects where teachers are already in short supply etc.

Round here the schools are full or pretty much full all the way up except a few - the ones the parents don't want. Most schools don't have the space to expand for an extra class either. Fewer parents will get their first choice school. More children won't be taught by a qualified teacher.

They'd be better to bring back assisted places in greater numbers.

No, I don't have children at private school, so no skin in the game.

It is unlikely to be before September. Once the election is over the MPs go on holiday. I suppose Starmer may insist that they all cancel their holidays so they can get on with being in charge.
I think the Tories know that Labour have no solid policy, apart from their Robin Hood raid on private schools .
It will be interesting to see how quickly they can roll out their winning formula.

This is us, my DS has Asperger's and a smaller nurturing private school has been really good for him. The school he goes to is not in the least elite and I went to a private school only because I got a government assisted place and a scholarship. In a single parent family we could never have afforded it otherwise and it made a real difference to my life. I wanted the same for my son because of his additional needs. Very few private schools are of the Eton/Marlborough College ilk.

Labour have made a lot of noise about this. I think they’ll attempt to implement it as soon as possible.

do they actually need a budget to come around so they can do it?

I don't think they do.

Schools really aren’t full.
The number of children that attend private school is very small - state schools can easily cope with them.
If you can afford to send your child to private school you ARE really rich. Sacrificing holidays or cars does not mean you are poor - loads of people can’t afford holidays or cars.
I have 2 SEN children in state schools.
It is immoral that rich children receive a better education - they are already advantaged, as a society we should focus on bringing the bottom up, not pushing the top even further away, level out people’s lives.

I believe Eton have said that they will not increase fees but VAT will be covered from their (substantial) endowment. Can't see many other schools being able to afford that. So no impact on super rich, but will push some smaller schools into closure with a huge impact of all their pupils. Levelling down is hardly progress.

It’s 6% across the country as a whole. That’s not insignificant, but bear in mind too that they won’t be evenly distributed, so impact won’t be the same across the board.
im not immediately seeing how outcomes for kids in the state system are made better by an additional influx from the private sector. To the extent SEN are involved, gubernatorial how poor provision is, surely better to let the private sector continue carrying some of the load, rather than push more kids into an already struggling system.

Not quite sure what gubernatorial is doing in that post. Never mind.

I would watch a series on the gubernatorial if Netflix made one.

I don’t think they will. Like many of their words, they won’t back them up with action. Far too many labour voters and donors have kids in private schools….

But how is it bringing the bottom up? I already have a DS at an incredible super selective grammar, younger DS joining him this Sept. Both privately educated from nursery to Yr 6 inclusive. We could afford private for DS2 (he sat the entrance exam and had a place) but with VAT and other probable tax rises, tutored him for the 11+ and now the state will pay our education bill and we save £30k a year. Lots of other families are making similar choices. It won’t help make things fairer, in fact it might make them worse.

You are completely right.

DD is at a large state comprehensive but it's very apparent that there are a big cohort of parents who in the past might have gone private but have opted for an outstanding state with excellent results and extra curricular. Instead they are spending money on tutors for Y10 and Y11 to ensure top GCSE grades.

I know a significant number of Y5/6 parents who are now targeting grammar schools instead of indies when they would not have done before. The stats on qualifying scores for this year for grammar are eye-opening.

The people who will suffer most from this will be teachers at the small indies that may end up closing, and SEN kids who manage in small schools, small classes and will now have to navigate the state sector if their schools close.

Not soon enough.

Can I gently suggest that if you were a parent with a child with SN who has managed to find an independent school to meet your child’s needs, you might feel a bit differently. I’m probably going to be fine by the time silly Keir sorts his policy out, but I feel for those stuck with this problem. It can be so hard to get our kids’ needs met; if you’ve finally managed that, to have the rug pulled from under you must be tough.

If you can afford private education, this surely won't be a worry?

It depends how easily you’re affording it, I suppose. For some people a 20% increase might well mean it becomes unaffordable.

Define afford.

Such a bizarre statement....if you can afford a week in Butlins then surely you can afford two weeks in the Maldives.

There are some really weird and illogical people on here