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…

You are wasting my time.

Let me focus on those worthy of debate.

And how exactly would that benefit anyone?

Or is it the case of 'if I can't use it, nobody should'?

Or why not just add VAT to the fees of a private education, which is a luxury.

@Monkeysatonthewall Exactly

Here's a thought, given that there is now a legal challenge on this policy, will the government pause implementation to allow the court to review it?

If the case is won and VAT implementation is considered illegal, wouldn't that mean any money spent by the government implementing this would be wasted tax payers money? plus the additional money that would be spent reversing the implementation.

That would be an early own goal for Labour and not one I'm sure they'd want.

In other words you want a little echo chamber?
Do you understand how horrifically rude you are being?

At this point of the debate, I half hope it does fail so badly and end up costing the state more. It's such a shame that the collateral damage will be children!!! For the person wanting to tax university - yes, let's just dumb down our society as much as possible shall we. 🙄

Because an educated population has wider benefits, so everyone contributes - not just people whose kids are presently school-aged.

You don't have to have dependant kids to need the wider population to be able to work to an educated level. And you'd also end up in a situation such as the States, where schools in rich areas are awash with money from high local tax take, and schools in poor areas struggle to keep the lights on.

@Dodo23 -that's the point. There is no provision in the state sector for all but the most extreme children. SEN has been starved of resources and LAs will not assess, even if a child meets the legal test. Disillusioned parents turn to the private sector and should not be penalised with VAT. They already pay for State Ed through their taxes and further save the state a fortune by funding what their children need through the private sector. Roll on the challenge. Everyone who goes to the private sector is one more off my books. I don't want this door closed.

Entirely possible.

Also consider they face a revolt over the WFA cuts.

This government could go south very quickly.

It's not illegal or breaching any rights.🫣

Education is different to health - if you click through to the description of the legal case which this thread is about, it gives the laws which they are relying on.

Parents have a right to be able to choose their children's education. Alternatives to state education are allowed.

If you briefly reflect on 20th century European history, it is obvious why!

You mean you have no come back to my assertion that the whole point of the legal action, which you are fully in support of, and happy to fund, is to ensure that the rights of the privileged are protected.

I would just like to add that I was so so hopeful when Labour got in. The Blair/Brown years were actually very good for the education sector as they prioritised it so much, from sure start centres, to large scale school infrastructure investment. We all benefitted. (I won't go into them introducing uni fees, as that's higher education and leads to an even bigger bun fight than this topic). The Tories were a shit show and are completely responsible for how bad it's become lately.

I am not hopeful anymore though, only angry because this current incarnation of Labour are far from the centrist "adults in the room" politics I was hoping for. They don't appear to value education at all. Instead of properly funding the sector with taxes raised elsewhere (and in much larger amounts!), they are instead taxing another area of education, which won't actually generate anything. The numbers don't add up. The promises mount. Nothing has been actually costed or modelled, despite them saying they have. Most of all I'm angry my children will have to continue in a substandard system, while the government plays with populism.

Why is it a privilege to work yourself out of poverty and then work 12 hour days with no support and have a child with SEN. If I just use state schooling am I automatically less privileged?

Do you really think the lady who has brought the case is privileged?

Educated, for sure, but she's been denied a public service to which she was entitled.

It is probably significant that she's in Kent, too. KCC SEN are notoriously bad. They've been flouting the law for years without comeback.

At least quote me if you're mentioning me. 🫣
You are aware that attending university is not the only way to become educated, engaged and contributing to society?

The legal challenge can’t actually start until after the budget

The costs of private education mean some parents don't already have a right to choose though.

I didn't say it was but if you want to encourage people to go into careers such as medicine then it isn't the best way to achieve it.

Ah okay, so basically the government will end up implementing a policy that is quickly reversed, wasting tax payers money in the process.

That's not going to be a good look for them.

Thanks. But where specific needs cannot be met within the state sector, then surely the EHCP should clearly specify this? And if the specific needs stated within the EHCP can actually be met within the state sector, then surely going private is more a matter of parental choice rather than need?

It's a great idea, and the best thing is that we already have a mechanism for it! It's called income tax.

Increasing basic income tax by 1p would raise 7.5billion pounds.

And would be fair.

Anyone who can access private education IS privileged, even if they have good reasons to want that private education.

Why are you assuming it will be quickly reversed?