Gifted private school students from lower-income families will not have to pay VAT charges on their fees, ministers have announced.
The Government will provide financial support to cover the 20 per cent VAT on fees for pupils enrolled in the music and dance scheme at specialist schools.
The support package will specifically benefit families earning less than £45,000 annually, who will receive additional funding to offset the VAT they would otherwise face.
Campaigners have welcomed the move as a softening of the Government’s stance, whilst calling for broader changes.
Government ministers have insisted they are not reversing the policy
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Treasury Minister Lord Livermore revealed the policy shift during parliamentary questions this week.
However, Government sources have insisted the arrangement does not represent a reversal of the private school VAT policy.
The Department for Education (DfE) has specifically avoided describing the new arrangement as an “exemption”.
The move follows December’s announcement of £9.4million in support to cover VAT on school fees for Armed Forces personnel’s children.
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Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson
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A DfE spokesman emphasised the Government’s commitment to breaking down barriers, stating: “It is this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and ensure every child has the best life chances.”
“This includes supporting more talented young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to forge careers in the creative industries,” the spokesman added.
The DfE also maintained that this was not an exemption to their private school tax policy, saying the changes would help lower-income families access specialist music and dance courses.
The Government has already been warned about significant fee increases if the full 20 per cent VAT policy is implemented.
For secondary age boarding pupils, average yearly fees would rise from £41,862 to £50,400 if the VAT charge is passed on to parents.
Nick Pietrek said Labour’s policy was ‘ideologically based’ Google Maps/SubmittedThis represents an increase of more than £8,500 per year for families with children in boarding schools.
Nick Pietrek, head of Stafford Grammar School slammed the plans, calling it “incredibly ill thought through.”
He told GB News: “I can’t have any view other than the fact that I think is based on ideology rather than any genuine fiscal policy.
“I think it’s being increasingly well documented that there will be a significant exodus of pupils, and families from the independent sector, and I think it will be difficult to know quite, how many that will be, the numbers seem seem to range. Really anything from 10 to 40 per cent.
“Not 40 per cent immediately, but over the next five years, I think, there will be families who will not be able to afford to stay and they’ll just go straight away. There will be others who will just do everything they possibly can to stay. But we’ll find it find it difficult to have a natural exit point.”
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