Parliamentary petition re VAT on school fees

[TrenItalia123]

Please consider signing this petition against VAT on school fees. Many private school parents are sacrificing everything to send their child to a private school, often because it's the only option for their child. I have kids at state school, and I work in a state school. I believe in state education - but it doesn't suit every child.

I have one child with SEN who is finally able to engage with school again, now that she's at a small, nurturing private school. If VAT on school fees means that many children leave her school, it may become unviable and close. My daughter will have to move to the same excellent but huge state school that her NT siblings thrive in, and she will sink. She is bright and creative. She cares deeply about things and she wants to make the world a better place. She has so much to give, but all that potential will be lost if she has to leave the school where she is so settled.

Please consider the plight of children like my DD, and the small schools that try so hard to make an environment where they can thrive. Please sign this petition - it must reach 100,000 signatures before recess, just over a week away!

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/701268

Thank you.

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The lack of responses here is telling I'm afraid. Private schooling is a business, it's right that it should be subject to VAT.
Whether exemption should exist re SEN students is a separate point.
It's not for the public to subsidise private schools by exempting VAT. The petition will be debated and ignored, Labour are driving through changes and wisely front-loading the less popular stuff early.
I feel for your nuanced case, which could be exempted, but on principle I can't sign this.

The public subsidising state really ? don’t make me laugh more the fact that public school parents are subsidising state education by opting out surely

The lack of responses has surprised me, @QuotetheRaven ! I thought there'd be more interest from other private school parents, but they're probably working.

I don't really see it as the public subsidising private schools. Parents with DC at private school are already paying (a lot) for their education, but they're also subsidising state schools which they aren't using (unless, like me, they have a foot in both camps) through taxes. It seems unfair to charge VAT as well. And, of course, that's not the only new pressure on private schools. They also have higher rates of national insurance to pay for the their staff. It's really a challenging time for them.

@TrenItalia123 sadly nobody cares but in years to come when state sSchools are really over subscribed and grammars are being ended see Rayner and reeves and Phillipsons take on those people might wish they had not been so vitriolic in the vat on public schools

@Parsley1234 We only have 1 small private school in our county and no grammars. It’s not a problem.

@Muchtoomuchtodo what isn’t a problem ? There are some areas with many issues regarding education over subscription when ex private school children are being taxied at a tax payer cost as there are no state places available to a bordering area that do have places. Lucky for you you don’t have an issue sadly there are problems in many places

I honestly would never entertain it .

My ds(SN) was let down by the education system . I honestly think a few more parents who can’t afford Private school are more likely to kick up a fuss re state of education for the majority

We have no grammars in our entire country (wales) and my county has no private schools. Some high schools in the county are good some not so good like anywhere. There’s no problem with school spaces here either

@Iwishiwasagiraffe we’re in Wales too.

Our Welsh medium comprehensive catchment area is the entire county. There is only 1! The lack of choice means that all sections of society are represented within school. Some areas are deprived and others are very wealthy. My kids have a very mixed group of friends which I think is very healthy.

We definitely won’t struggle with a huge influx of kids from the private sector, nor the top ability kids being creamed off.

I’m not against private education per se, but don’t agree that it should be VAT exempt.

Already signed. Parents who use private schools for their kids for whatever reason are likely already paying a fair chunk of income tax towards the state schools that they're not using - we've never complained about this in the past but why are we now expected to pay yet more tax for something we don't use?

If you look at the figures, and the deliberate obfuscation in the budget where the money raised from this tax was lumped in with something else, you can see it clearly isn't about raising money but is a deliberate attempt by Labour to weaken and eventually destroy private schools. If increasing tax on vapes takes a couple of years to implement, why on earth is it acceptable for labour to introduce this mid school year? The timing is cruel, vindictive, and spiteful.

You could say the same for adults without children , that’s not the way tax works 🤷‍♂️

Parents who use private schools for their kids for whatever reason are likely already paying a fair chunk of income tax towards the state schools that they're not using - we've never complained about this in the past

Because complaining about it would be batshit - people who don't have children also pay taxes that go towards schools, and towards maternity and children's healthcare they never use, maybe they should complain about that as well 🙄

Thanks OP
fellow parent of SEND child here
we need a diversity of schools to remain available. Keep going!

Yes and we accept we generally have tax taken off us for the government to waste left right and centre regardless of the fact we're unlikely to benefit from much of it. But this is a very specific tax with a specific aim. It's not the same thing.

I’ve signed

@Parsley1234

Most places do not have grammar schools anyway, went in the 1970's and most children, 94% attend state school and a further 1% attend private schools with fees met by lea's (due to Sen)

Private schools are businesses catering to the elite, why shouldn't then pay vat?

i signed good luck

@mitogoshigg Well they certainly are catering to the elite now bursaries going scholarships token gesture. Due to these clowns who did not do a correct financial analysis of potential money to be raised unless you count the one done on a back of a fag packet the money raised will be negigable and actually could end up costing the government aka the tax payer money

Would it maybe be better to campaign for more state options for children with SEN?

That is how comprehensive schools work best, and how they should work. One school with everyone. Unfortunately in more densely packed areas where people have a choice of schools (and housing) they are no longer mixed. And that's before you add "church" schools and grammar into the mix.

What a totally pointless waste of time such a petition is.

The government already knows that approx 5% of the population (about 3.5 million people) are private school fee payers who would probably prefer not to pay more tax.

Meanwhile about 10 million people voted labour with them standing with a manifesto that promised to do this, and a further 30 million didn't vote at all presumably because they don't care enough to do so. Even if every single person affected by the VAT fees signed the petition (and many people affected agree that they should pay more tax anyway) it woukd still be antidemocratic to pay a moment's attention to such a petition.

Over 6 million signed a petition to call for brexit to be halted. Over a million have signed the equally ridiculous petition to have another general election because they didn't like the result of the last one. No petition should override democratic mandates like this. The proper use of a petition is to draw attention to an issue that isn't currently an area of policy priority, to let politicians know that it's a topic that could win them votes. Not for those that are opposed to the ruling party in any case to vent their frustration that their side lost.

There may be reasons to criticise the policy. However "I want to keep my wealth for myself" is a ridiculous reason and this petition has no merit.

That would be great, but would take time to implement. This petition is about protecting the schools we already have, many of which are facing an existential threat.

Debate is healthy! And petitions are part of the democratic process. Maybe this petition will help, maybe it won't, but at least we're trying.