I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in the House of Commons this week on Labour’s decision to apply VAT to independent school fees and remove business rates relief.
The catalyst for the debate was a petition urging the government to “understand that not all independent school parents are wealthy, appreciate the benefits of independent schools and do better due diligence.”
It continued that, if enacted, these decisions “will split children from established friend networks, familiar environments and place the burden and cost on public schools.”
Those succinct statements get straight to the heart of this issue.
This topic is divisive. Usually, that would cause a government to approach it with caution, respect and careful deliberation, but this Labour government has taken the opposite approach.
They have been deliberately divisive because their goal here is not to improve education for all or even some young people. This decision was taken for purely political and ideological reasons.
It will do damage to young people, directly and indirectly, but the government is not listening or even pretending to listen. In truth, Labour ministers do not care about the negative impact of this policy.
They did not consider what may happen as a result of it. As the Independent Schools Council has made clear, independent schools were shocked at the rushed nature of the introduction of this policy.
As a result of the lack of care when this policy was brought in, Labour have created serious issues which will impact pupils, parents and the public purse.
There are many potential repercussions. Firstly, Labour will burden parents with huge costs when bills are already high. As the Independent Schools Council have highlighted, Labour are assuming, wrongly, that all parents who send their children to independent schools are immensely wealthy and can afford to pay more and more.
The second issue that Labour has created is the impact on vulnerable pupils, who seem to have been neglected entirely. There seems to be no recognition from the government that independent schools do not just cater exclusively for wealthy children, but for young people who may need extra support. The Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS) has endorsed this point. They said “Pupils with additional support needs will be affected the most by disruption to their education.”
None of that seems to have been properly or even slightly considered by this government. Labour did not take the time to sit down and have discussions around the impact the policy will have on vulnerable children.
Additionally, these decisions will have dreadful consequences on some young people who will be forced to move school. This policy could be devastating for those who will have to start again somewhere new. Students forced to move schools could be ripped out of friend networks. They may be taken out of a stable setup which they are used to. They may be forced, through absolutely no fault of their own, into a very different learning environment. To make matters worse, that could happen to them at a critical moment in their education, for instance in an exam year or at a moment where they are about to choose subjects which will influence their later career. How can that possibly be fair to inflict that on young people?
Another issue that Labour has created is the risk of huge costs to state schools that will arise from pupils moving out of independent schools. Every pupil that moves from an independent school to a state school will incur more costs to taxpayers. Those students were not costing the government money but, now, their entire education will be met by taxpayers. The government thinks it’s being clever by raising a tax to support public services, without coming to the obvious realisation that they are also raising the cost of providing public services.
Across the UK, the Independent Schools Council say that their survey data shows over 8,500 children have already left or didn’t start at independent schools last September, and another 3,000 are expected to have left in January. The council has stated “that is nearly four times the government estimate for this year alone.” If those figures do indeed become the reality, then the entire justification for this policy will be in tatters.
In response to challenges about these policies, Labour have made some ridiculous claims. Most ludicrous of all was their statement that “These policies will not impact pupils with the most acute additional needs.”
This has been thoroughly dismantled by independent schools. It is plainly false – not even close to the truth. The government’s decisions will impact vulnerable pupils with additional needs. In fact, they may do the most damage to that cohort. It is simply shameful that Labour are claiming these policy choices won’t even impact them. It does a huge disservice to the many parents out there doing their best for young people who just need a bit more help.
But as I have said, these decisions are not based on evidence or good intentions. They are being pursued for political and ideological reasons.
It will cost pupils, it will cost parents, it will cost taxpayers. It will leave both independent and state schools worse off.
Labour promised change – but they didn’t say it would be change for the worse.
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