Independent schools in the country have railed against the Labour Party’s election promise – due to come into effect in January – to levy VAT taxes on school fees in a measure designed to redistribute the extra cash generated into state education. Experts predict that the move could force schools to increase the amount they charge parents by an average of 10-15%.
In an effort to block the controversial legislation from coming into law, six families supported by the Independent Schools Council (ISC) have filed a judicial review in the High Court.
The claim, brought against Chancellor Rachel Reeves, focusses on the potential effects that bringing in the policy could have on families, with the ISC stressing that parents are already being forced to “weigh up their options”. Religious families or those whose children have particular needs may be hit hardest, it warned.
The claimants are asking for the claim to be heard as quickly as possible, although a potential date for the court hearing remains unclear.
“Children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) are facing real uncertainty; families of vulnerable girls in single-sex schools are confronting painful choices; minority Jewish and Muslim families fear they cannot provide an education for their children that respects their faith; and, foreign nationals following the curriculum of their home country have few, if any, alternatives,” the ISC said.
When approached by The PIE News, the Treasury said it did not comment on potential litigation matters.
The news comes after the ISC revealed last month that it was mounting a legal challenge to the VAT policy, joining forces with a prominent human rights barrister to fight the case.
While the details of the case remained unclear at the time, it seems the ISC is now looking for a declaration of incompatibility, which is a formal statement by a court – usually on human rights matters – indicating that a specific law is incompatible with the rights guaranteed under the Human Rights Act 1998.
We have consistently said that the diversity within independent schools has been ignored by policymakers
Julie Robinson, ISC
The ISC’s case argues that the VAT policy will prevent access to education at independent schools and is therefore incompatible with the right to education as guaranteed by Article 2 of the First Protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights. It also claims that the legislation “infringes Article 14 of the Convention because it causes unnecessary and discriminatory harm to certain categories of children”.
“Throughout the debate over charging VAT on education, we have consistently said that the diversity within independent schools has been ignored by policymakers,” ISC CEO Julie Robinson said.
“As a result of the government’s blanket approach, the impact is likely to be felt immediately by many families and children, many of whom have chosen an independent school for reasons including faith, SEND support, dual-language learning or single-sex education. It is to protect the rights of these families, who are having their choice removed from them by this policy, that we are seeking a declaration of incompatibility.”
