Edinburgh Council has insisted they have the capacity to deal with an influx of private school children entering the state sector when VAT is added to school fees.

The authority pushed back against claims made in the Commons that the capital’s classrooms were “fit to burst.”

They say they have spaces for “a further 12,700 pupils in our schools.”

But Christine Jardine, the Lib Dem MP for Edinburgh West stood by the comments made during Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions.

READ MORE: Private school vat fee row: Edinburgh schools 'fit burst' says city MP

Ending tax breaks for private schools to help fund improvements to the state sector was a key pledge of Labour’s during the general election campaign.

The King confirmed that the policy would go ahead during last week’s state opening of parliament.

It is not known when exactly VAT will be added, though recent reports have suggested it could be as soon as January 2025.

Senior Whitehall sources told The Times the change would be included in Rachel Reeves’ first Budget.

The policy will have a real impact in Edinburgh where a significant number of school-aged children are privately education.

Recent research for SCIS found that there were 9,310 pupils attending one of their member schools in the city, almost three times as many as in Glasgow.

Labour believes the change could raise an extra £1.7bn for the Treasury, with £150m in consequentials coming to Scotland.

The Scottish Council of Independent Schools believes that the introduction of VAT will shrink the fee-paying sector by 13% and could mean 1,000 more pupils across Scotland relying on council-run services.

Speaking in the Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Ms Jardine asked Sir Keir Starmer to “reassure the many parents and teachers in Edinburgh West who have expressed concerns about the implication for our state education system in Scotland of the VAT increase in independent fees, which he proposes.”

The Prime Minister told MPs he understood "the aspiration that parents who work hard and save hard have for their children that they send to private school."

“But every parent has that aspiration, whichever school they go to," he added. 

Speaking after PMQs, Ms Jardine said she was “disappointed to see the Prime Minister refuse to address the concerns of many parents and teachers in Edinburgh West about the impact of his plans for fees on our community.”

“The Council has been clear that our schools are already fit to burst. They cannot afford a surge in enrolment if parents move their pupils to the state sector," she added.

READ MORE: UNSPUN Keir Starmer is right to apply VAT to private school fees

Currently, there are 23,150 secondary pupils in Edinburgh, the highest number since the 1980s.

The roll increased by 3.71% this year, and according to a report by the council published in April, is projected to keep increasing until it peaks in 2029.

Some 16 schools will be over capacity by 2030. 

The authority is currently undertaking a “review of capacity in secondary schools” to “make more efficient use of the spaces schools currently use.”

The council say they should be able to fit in an extra 3,700 places across the school estate because of the review.

Another four are getting extensions, while a number of new schools are scheduled to be built.

Responding to the comments, the council’s Education, Children and Families Convener, Cllr Joan Griffiths, said: “We’re ready to give all children and young people the best start in life.

“With the extensions we’re making to some of our school buildings and the new campuses we’re planning to build, we don’t expect many of our secondary schools to hit capacity in the next decade.

“Plus, we believe secondary school rolls across the city will slow because primary school rolls are falling.

“Our latest projections show we have capacity for a further 12,700 pupils in our schools, but we’ll continue to keep this under review.”

READ MORE: Anas Sarwar defends Labour school fee VAT plan

Ms Jardine told The Herald: "My point was and it stands, parents have been coming to me saying this is going to have an impact on education in Edinburgh and in Edinburgh West in particular.

"The Council have pointed to Craigmount and Queensferry and they are quite right to do that because there are new housing developments there, but they don't say when they're going to build these schools and how.

"And their own report,shows that 16 schools will be over capacity in six years time, by 2030.

"All of that doesn't change the fact that they the Prime Minister did not say how he is going to ensure that VAT raised in Scotland will be reinvested in creating the capability in the state sector to cope with this."