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Education

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Original poster

Will parents move to areas closer to Outstanding/Good schools rather than pay VAT

166 replies

LadyConfused2024 · 15/01/2025 17:42

Sorry for the long message. This really? Do you think many parents will sell up/rent near a better school and take their kids out of private school rather than pay the VAT fee increase?

These are purely selfish reasons as I want to move and think that house prices are going to go up a lot in areas with good state schools.

Thanks in advamce.

OP posts:

maxplanck · 16/01/2025 15:10

EasternStandard · 16/01/2025 15:03

Stalling of growth due to post GE policies and higher borrowing costs due to current lack of market confidence

Decreasing the private sector will always impact the public sector after a few months

Show quote history

So nothing to do with the last 14 years ?

Another76543 · 16/01/2025 15:12

@maxplanck

The global crash in 2008 and Covid probably didn't help the country's finances. It's amazing how people seem to forget these things. You are saying though that austerity caused these issues. How is increasing austerity going to solve the problems if, as you believe, it caused them in the first place?

FixItFi · 16/01/2025 15:15

Another76543 · 16/01/2025 15:12

@maxplanck

To be fair to @maxplanck , it is possible that taxing education and closing schools will improve the UK’s standard of living. It’s just incredibly unlikely.

StormingNorman · 16/01/2025 15:16

Another76543 · 16/01/2025 14:52

@FixItFi

No I didn’t protest about your library 🙄and I was not aware Labour are claiming the education tax will be used to fund libraries, that’s quite a long list of activities it’s going to fund now.

They're not. They're using it to give the kids a few breakfast muffins and to give every school a third of a teacher....... Hardly transformational for the state sector.

I don’t think the VAT on private education was a well thought out policy but trivialising the need to feed children living in food poverty is a low blow.

Another76543 · 16/01/2025 15:20

@StormingNorman

I don’t think the VAT on private education was a well thought out policy but trivialising the need to feed children living in food poverty is a low blow.

I'm absolutely not trivialising it. If you read my posts, you'll see that I said that taxpayer money should be targeted, not spent on feeding the children of millionaires. That's what is happening now.

EasternStandard · 16/01/2025 15:21

maxplanck · 16/01/2025 15:10

So nothing to do with the last 14 years ?

Show quote history

We had better growth in early 2024 which has stalled.

I don’t think Labour were expecting to have to make cuts as proposed, no.

That is a combination of borrowing costs and reducing private sector

MyNameIsErinQuin · 16/01/2025 15:26

Another76543 · 16/01/2025 14:43

@MyNameIsErinQuin

If students went to the school forecast 3/4 in maths and English, leaving with 4/5 would be a great results, better that intakes forecast 9 and coming out with 9. Progress 8 measures just that, how well students as a cohort do relative to sats results. Not all students will get 7/8/9 despite how well they are taught. Some will no matter how good teaching!

The Progress 8 figure is dire as well. Well into negative territory.

Hmmm, agree then, hard to see how it’s good unless P8 is rapidly getting less bad!

nearlylovemyusername · 16/01/2025 16:37

morechocolateneededtoday · 16/01/2025 14:30

Until now, we have both been paying tax in the 60% bracket plus we pay full school fees for two children. Our children's school receives no government funding at all and we do not take the fully funded state school places that are offered to us.

As of Sept 2026, DC will be in a state school at a cost of £8k to the public sector. I will be working less hours and drop down to 40% tax bracket, paying thousands less. DH will be diverting more of his income into his pension as we do not need to pay school fees.

I would love to know the logic in defining our situation pre 2025 as 'avoiding paying our way'. As a PP has said, the IFS have backed down and admitted there is no money to be gained from this policy. Private school parents were paying far more than their share before this tax came in. Now the elite will pay extra (whilst their schools claim back tax on their vanity projects) and the rest of us will pay far far less by having our children in the state sector.

Show quote history

And you're not alone - I took very similar steps.
Btw - schools (=government) pay for GCSEs and A-levels for state kids, about £50/exam? Private parents pay themselves. This cost to be added to 8k pa when kids are moving from private to state. Every little helps

nearlylovemyusername · 16/01/2025 16:45

maxplanck · 16/01/2025 15:10

So nothing to do with the last 14 years ?

Show quote history

What does it have to do with 14 years? there are plenty of big businesses (Currys latest) announcing "depressed hiring" and moving investments as a direct response to Labour budget. Plenty are working on plans to do the same.

Labour market was buoyant even last year, employers were struggling to recruit. This time it is close to impossible to get a job, especially for youngsters.

MissyB1 · 16/01/2025 16:47

Neilsfavouritechilli · 15/01/2025 22:30

Are private schools actually adding 20% onto existing fees? I understood that having to be VAT registered meant that they could recover a good amount of VAT on their costs and expenses. So I thought they'd reduce the base fee to account for that.

Ours were sneaky about it. They put the fees up by 7% in September, then added 12.5 percent of the Vat after the budget. So yes 19.5% 🙄

Snugglemonkey · 16/01/2025 16:54

3WildOnes · 15/01/2025 19:59

Our plan is to move to somewhere with outstanding state schools and then pull ours out of their private schools at natural exit points.

Ours too.

nearlylovemyusername · 16/01/2025 17:06

Teachers salaries are by far the largest cost item and it's not deductible, so unless there are significant Capex projects it will be close to 20%.
Then you add salary increases next fiscal year and NI and it's going to be another 8-10% from September.

BarqsHasBite · 16/01/2025 17:07

MissyB1 · 16/01/2025 16:47

Ours were sneaky about it. They put the fees up by 7% in September, then added 12.5 percent of the Vat after the budget. So yes 19.5% 🙄

Show quote history

Inless I’ve misunderstood I’m not sure this is “sneaky” - fees in most schools are subject to an annual inflationary increase in normal times, 7% is on the high side but not unheard of. I know plenty of schools that put up their fees in Sep and then have put them up again by a further17% or 18% from Jan due to VAT (ie they’ve absorbed a small amount of the VAT but not much).

Neilsfavouritechilli · 16/01/2025 18:28

Thanks all for the clarification on the VAT reclaim that I assumed would mitigate some of the increase for parents. I have no skin in this game personally but I do like to understand the reality of the situation.

EasternStandard · 16/01/2025 18:52

MissyB1 · 16/01/2025 16:47

Ours were sneaky about it. They put the fees up by 7% in September, then added 12.5 percent of the Vat after the budget. So yes 19.5% 🙄

Show quote history

This isn’t sneaky it’s just the yearly increase then VAT kicking in mid year

Original poster

LadyConfused2024 · 16/01/2025 20:07

I'm new to MN and just logged back in now. Wow I wasn't expecting so many messages. So yes ppl will move closer. Understood!

OP posts:

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