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…

I find this dismissiveness awful

And if the funding doesn't happen how does it create a fairer society? The gap between private schooling and state increases and no extra teachers or other

Good state schools get extra pressure and become more inaccessible to others

So what is happening other than greater inaccessibility?

This thread has been great, really.

Please start your own so posters can simply crit you rather than addressing the underlying issue.

@EasternStandard - unfortunately I think we have a lot of ableism in our society. There has to be an underlying thinking amongst some in the Labour Party that some middle class parents are demanding too expensive special school places and “pretending” their DCs with “invented” SEN need smaller classes in PS schools. Otherwise, none of this makes any sense whatsoever!

I think the reality is we have an explosion of child poverty (FSM) and an explosion of SEN and mental health needs and balancing all of it properly is very daunting.
And we have a ton of children damaged by Covid itself, including some children in what are otherwise well off families. Go ask any teacher. Covid repercussions are real across the social strata. Teacher burn out post Covid is also a real issue.

The teacher burnout comment is moot, given Labours promise to recruit (and retain) 6,500 state school teachers.

39 pages in and nobody has explained why this shouldn't just be a wealth / income tax and why parents who aren't using a system have to subsidise it when there are wealthier people using it?? To keep saying "pay tax on your luxury purchases" is so illogical and just shows a complete lack of understanding on so many levels.

I don’t understand how people think the general population could plan this far ahead - for a start we live in a democratic system and labour did not get in….until they got voted in. People with no experience of sen think hey can’t parents just get a echp… echps are done through government department - where in the world do government departments work quickly on something that is going to cost them a tonne of money? There are checks and interviews and tests - and quite rightly if tax payer money is being spent - but it’s not a case of just go get an echp and you’ll be right mate. An a lot of Sen kids have sensory issues and need the small class size - you can’t get an echp based on that - but it’s will a problem for the child and affects both their desire to go to school and their learning.

No, I will continue to point out the strange approach you have, being patronising and rude to anyone not in your echo chamber, thanks.

Teacher burnout comments are far from 'moot' and tbh we need to listen to teachers in the state system, because most of the UK population is in the state system!

I asked a question this morning - would you care to answer that? Or would you prefer to rabble rouse.

Your choice, but this thread will soon come to an end.

Private school parents are not subsidising state schools any more than any other tax paying individual is. You are choosing not to use the state system.

Please comment on Labours promise to recruit 6500 state school teachers, thanks.

Your view?

When Labour linked private school children to lack of funding for state schools, I thought well that’s a big mistake as people won’t fall for that nonsense given it’s a clearly demonstrable fact they take nothing from the state, contribute £4 billion a year by not taking up state school funding and the parents are usually in the top 10% of earners who pay the 60% of income tax. It seems Labour understand their target market better than I do.

No idea which question it was, feel free to ask it again. I look forward to your dismissive response of any view differing from yours (actually I don't, it's not a good look).

I'm talking about the VAT subsidising it - that's the whole point of it.

EHCPs are done through local authorities, not government departments, and the process is subject to a 20 week time limit by law. You can certainly get an EHCP based on sensory needs including a need for small classes.

Well said. Unfortunately it's happening now so we'l all feel the downside

No problem.

Theres a subsequent question.

It won’t happen, unfortunately for Labour we do have checks and balances designed to prevent authoritarian Governments from targeting groups they don’t like.

If the UK sets up schools in France, I can see no reason for them to complain because a French taxation decision might affect those schools. French values are not so far distant from British ones that parents can't cover any differences. Clearly no-one thinks that education is a luxury, hence the fact that it is available without charge. The nonsense is posts like this suggesting that that is what this policy is saying.

We pay VAT on a whole host of things, which also subsidises other things we may not need/choose though.

OK, where is the 'subsequent question'?

I am commenting on the topic of the thread, which is justification for private parents continuing not to pay VAT. If you want a thread on teacher recruitment maybe start one on that?

I have read your comments and I am indeed baffled as you have no real argument to defend your “right” to be having Vat exempt private education.
Private education is a choice in most cases, rare exceptions allowed. The government taxation system is in place to ensure that the basic rights for education, healthcare etc are looked after.
The current government is having to deal with a huge debt, partly due to the “mis-budgeting” of the previous government, so to look into reviewing VAT exemptions or increases is just what has always been done, see for example increasing Vat on alcohol (again a non essential!)
Additionally, I interpret the message from Labour that they will not keeping supporting the ones in society that do not need any financial help. And for that reason alone, in my opinion parents cannot expect the VAT exemption to continue.

The answer to the state school teacher crisis is to provide a better (and safer) working environment in state schools by providing more funding, better facilities, help for struggling children, a proper SEN budget etc.

The answer is definitely not to try and force some private sector teachers back into the state system by forcing their schools into bankruptcy.