VAT on school fees - High Court Challenge.

[EverythingAllatOnceAllTheTime]

Labour’s plan to impose VAT on private school fees in January faces a High Court legal challenge over claims it breaches human rights law.

Lawyers have written to HM Treasury arguing the policy discriminates against special needs children and has threatened court action if it is not dropped.

Showtime…

Well, I’m glad you don’t have a legal background then.

The government has NOT exempted the parents of DC with an EHCP from paying VAT on fees.

They have said (I believe) that they will exempt LAs from paying VAT on fees. It does make sense for one bit of government not to be taxing another.

@Daddybegood ,

‘Such was the conclusion reached by Lester and Pannick in the Joint Opinion of Anthony Lester QC and David Pannick (ISIS document No. 11) April 1987: which concluded both that the abolition of fee paying, independent education would be a direct violation of A2P1, and that the removal of charitable status from, and the imposition of VAT on, independent/private schools would probably amount to a violation too’

That case was about the abolition of private schooling and also, as you can see above, ventured very little into VAT, and certainly does not state unequivocally that VAT would be a violation.

And what has changed very substantially is the nature of private schooling. When I left my (top London day school) private school in the mid eighties, the fees were £700/term, they are now about £8,000/term pre VAT.

I also think the power of the class system has changed since 1976. Middle classes went private then. Now most can’t afford it.

The government could argue easily that all the VAT could be absorbed and the same education provided, just cutting back on some bells and whistles.

@Daddybegood ‘The high court would almost certainly hear the case, but the most likely thing is that Labour will be advised to withdraw the policy before it reaches court’

Yes. Starmer knows this. He’s known it all along. Pannick et al are still here, the history is clear. The whole ‘punish the rich’ theme was to win his easy votes. Now. The chickens come home to roost and it simply won’t happen.

My son has had an EHCP since he was four years old. He has multiple complex disabilities and struggles with, among many other things, excessive noise and crowds. For secondary, the local authority wanted to put him in a comprehensive school with over 300 students per year group. The senco showed us round and explained how, for my son’s own safety, he would need to arrive at each lesson 5 minutes late and leave 5 mins early. If he didn’t feel brave enough to enter the classroom then he would be expected to learn through the window in the door.

This school repeatedly told our LA in writing that they couldn’t adequately meet my son’s needs. However the LA still insisted on placing him there, until we took them to tribunal. This cost us a lot of money to do. Eventually the LA named the independent specialist school that we wanted.

It is not east to get an EHCP. It is a whole lot harder to get the LA to name a private school - whether specialist or not - in section i of the EHCP. I suspect that many of those who do think it’s easy, have not had personal SEN experience.

The appointed lawyers defeated the previous government in 2022 over care homes, so let’s hope they are successful again.

I look forward to being able to help crowdfund this action.

Why is no one upset with the schools for passing on the cost? Maybe instead of challenging the policy you should talk to your school about absorbing some of the costs.

Very sorry to hear this, and kudos to you for your persistence.

Nice try but no.

The buck stops squarely with Labour.

It was inevitable there would be a legal challenge.

Regardless of whether you support or oppose private schools, the fact the no other govt in the world taxes education, calls the whole policy in to question.

And it's blatently discriminatory. Why is teaching in a school taxed but not tutoring? Why is teaching Geography taxed but not swimming or piano?

When does group home-ed become a school?

It will be interesting to see how it is resolved.

It didn't state unequivocally that it's a violation but "probably amount to a violation". On the balance of probabilities, Labour will likely be advised by civil servants and their new Attorney General (a human rights specialist) that it would lose this case (with the associated v.negative headlines) & should withdraw the policy quietly

Maybe your money would be better spent helping actual disadvantaged children.
I have put two children through private school and now work with families who haven’t a pot to piss in. Attitudes like yours physically repulse me.

What people seem to be missing is that for schools to absorb the costs of the VAT they will have to, as a pp put it, cut back on the 'bells and whistles'.

It's usually the 'bells and whistles' that parents are paying for. If they are cut back what's the point in paying???

I was paying a bursary for another child -
if you had read any of my other posts you would have known this.

The right to education is a negative right. That means that the government isn't required to give you the education of your choice, but they're not permitted to prevent it.

It's the same as the right to family life. The government isn't required to give you a family - that's up to you. But they're not allowed to unreasonably prevent it.

Imagine they introduced a very high per-child tax on parents for every child after their first one. That would breach the right to family life, especially if it could be shown that the tax was raising hardly any money (since most of it was eaten up by implementing and enforcing the restriction) and was actually just intended to discourage parents from having multiple children.

It's the same thing for VAT on private school fees. The tax will hardly raise any money: it might even cost the Government money once it plays out with children moving to state school, and all the consequences of that. It's a really substantial tax, and it's clearly just intended to force people out of private education for political, social engineering reasons.

That's why private school fees aren't discriminatory (just like nobody owes you a family) but the government deliberately putting a huge tax on the fees to stop families using private school is (just like them putting a huge tax on children to stop you having a bigger family would be)

(And before you say "but nobody needs a private education" consider that nobody needs a second child either)

You’ll have to make sure that you can guarantee equal access to all curriculum areas for ALL children otherwise you’re just supporting a spectacular nosedive to the bottom. Not that I’d be surprised to hear that that is what the current government is planning given its performance so far 🥹

@Daddybegood ,

‘It didn't state unequivocally that it's a violation but "probably amount to a violation". On the balance of probabilities, Labour will likely be advised by civil servants and their new Attorney General (a human rights specialist) that it would lose this case (with the associated v.negative headlines) & should withdraw the policy quietly’

This is total fantasy. It is one of Starmer’s flagship policies. Even if he wanted to, he could not withdraw it quietly. Can you imagine the crowing in the Telegraph and Mail, and even those Tories left in parliament would have a very joyful and raucous question time.

I don’t think the case has legal merit but, even if I did, courts are notorious for bending judgments in favour of government in this type of thing.

I don’t personally think the policy should have been brought in all at once and certainly not in the middle of an academic year. But I also think schools should be using some of their reserves to help existing pupils who are struggling to pay and especially those who really ‘need’ the place.

But VAT will be brought in. Have the Tories even had the balls to say they would reverse it ?

I've got some pots if that helps?

Because it's not just about the cost, we could afford the VAT but chose to move to get into an outstanding state school.

My worry would be what is his next move 20% this year, restrictions next year, higher uni offers for private kids after that.

Where does it stop when the public vote a socialist into number 10.

No other country taxes education this is simply a policy of jealousy

Do you actually believe that the extra money raised will bring state education “up to scratch”? How much do you believe this policy is going to raise?

As for the serious question, there are many children with SEND in the private sector without a EHCP. The parents of some of these children will now be applying for EHCP’s, which will put further pressure on oversubscribed resources. Some of the children with SEND with no EHCP’s will go back into the state system anyway and put further pressure on oversubscribed resources…

I want a flying unicorn and to be a billionaire but that’s not going to happen either. Private education will never be banned so I suggest you deal with that especially as there are plenty of labour mps who use the system themselves. And no I have never used the system myself as I have never been able to afford it but I don’t begrudge those that do. It’s bloody hilarious how people championing Labour on this when a heck of a lot of them privately educate themselves. So you’re living in a dream world if you think they will ever ban private schools. They are no better than the Tories on this just less honest on this particular issue.

Exactly this.

I think the university tuition fee question is a good one. What is the distinction? You pay for both private school and university in the hope that it will give you an advantage for your future career and earning prospects. There are lots of people that can't access university as they don't have the grades or haven't got the financial resources. There is overwhelming evidence that the top performing universities are dominated by students from wealthy families (and no, I don't just mean from private schools) and yet VAT isn't charged?

Same goes for tutoring or swimming. How you reconcile someone getting VAT free additional tutoring to boost their grades whilst someone at private school gets charged VAT for a very similar lesson in school time?

Genuine question if you feel this case has merit:

Are children with SEN who are unable to access private schools due to their parents not being able to pay the fees, also being discriminated against?

Can I start a legal case on the basis of discrimination and crowdfund because my dc with SEN are in state school, and I'd like them to be in private?

educationnottaxation.org/legal/