Ruling over VAT on private school fees 'huge disappointment', say campaigners

Campaigners person described losing a High Court situation implicit the imposition of VAT connected backstage schoolhouse fees arsenic a "huge disappointment".

They accidental the "unjust legislation" has already had a "devastating impact" connected autarkic schools.

During a hearing successful London successful April, a radical of schools, pupils and their parents argued that for immoderate children, their needs are not met by authorities schools.

They claimed the argumentation of applying VAT to fees, which came into unit successful January, is discriminatory, incompatible with quality rights instrumentality and was being applied "irrespective" of a family's need.

Caroline Santer, headteacher astatine The King's School successful Hampshire, said that the judgement was "a immense disappointment" but added "we volition proceed to situation the legality of this policy".

"This unjust authorities has already had a devastating interaction connected the autarkic schoolhouse sector, causing galore children to permission their schools and adjacent galore schools to close."

Ben Snowdon, headteacher astatine Emmanuel School successful Derby, agreed that the argumentation would beryllium "devastating for autarkic Christian schools and galore different low-cost autarkic schools".

"It is particularly concerning to parents who are not from affluent backgrounds and who person children with peculiar acquisition needs (SEN)," helium said.

Sophie Kemp, from ineligible steadfast Kingsley Napley, which represented the claimants, said: "It was important to situation VAT connected schoolhouse fees, which some the authorities and the tribunal recognised had a discriminatory interaction connected children astatine spiritual schools arsenic good arsenic important interaction connected children with SEN."

But Sir James Eadie KC, representing the Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Department for Education (DfE), said abolishing the VAT exemption for backstage schoolhouse fees was a diagnostic of Labour's manifesto and is expected to output betwixt £1.5bn and £1.7bn a year.

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Three judges astatine the High Court said immoderate VAT exemption would mean the authorities would suffer retired connected "a precise important portion of the gross it hopes to raise", which could beryllium utilized for SEN proviso successful authorities schools.

"The purpose was redistributive - and unapologetically so," the judges said.

During the 94-page ruling, they besides wrote determination is simply a "broad borderline of discretion successful deciding however to equilibrium the interests of those adversely affected by the argumentation against the interests of others who whitethorn summation from nationalist proviso funded by the wealth it volition raise".

Referencing the European Convention connected Human Rights, the judges added that the authorities does "not see immoderate close to necessitate the authorities to facilitate one's child's entree to a backstage school", adjacent if parents similar a spiritual one.