Dr Neil Hudson MP stood up to counter Labour’s “short-sighted” policy to destabilise the independent school sector and put at risk the £4 billion in UK taxpayer savings from pupils not educated in the state sector.
Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has pledged to impose 20 per cent VAT on private sector education which would either force hard-working parents to pay hugely inflated sums of money or risk adding undue strain to public services.
As such, Dr Hudson expressed his significant concern about the unintended consequences of Labour’s proposal during a debate on Independent School Fees: VAT in the House of Commons late on Wednesday afternoon.
In the House of Commons debate, Dr Neil Hudson MP said:
“Our independent schools do vital outreach work with access bursaries and access to sports facilities. Many hard-working families up and down the land make huge sacrifices, saving to send their children to independent schools.
“Does my hon. Friend agree that the short-sighted Labour policy on VAT on independent schools will compromise these schools, force some parents to take their children out of them, and ultimately put more pressure on our local state schools?”
Across the country, more than 600,000 children benefit form the independent schools sector – proving a total economic footprint of £16.5 billion, employing almost 330,000 jobs and more than £5 billion in tax revenues.
The UK’s independent schools have a long history, and the best have a world-wide reputation for excellence, producing outstanding exam results and well-rounded pupils. Indeed, these schools have a depth of expertise and resources, for example in teaching, governance and finance, which can be drawn upon to strengthen schools in the state sector and help them prepare pupils from all backgrounds to achieve the best outcomes.
The Department for Education encourages independent schools to partner with state schools to deliver inclusive education, facilities and activities for pupils and staff. This results in widespread benefits to young people from all backgrounds.
Speaking afterwards, Dr Neil Hudson MP added:
“The power of learning to transform outcomes for people of all backgrounds cannot be overstated and so I think taxing education would be an extremely retro-grade and counter-productive move.”
“The independent sector saves hard-working taxpayers billions every year by taking pressures off the public sector and providing tax revenue. Any measures to undermine this would undermine both the independent and state school sectors.”
