The rector of Glasgow’s Kelvinside Academy has called on Sir Keir Starmer to delay his plans to add VAT on private school fees.
Daniel Wyatt said the Labour tax measure could see “thousands, not hundreds, of pupils” forced to leave the independent sector in the “middle of crucial exam years, or in the early stages of their development.”
He also said there were still questions over what would happen to the money raised, with “VAT collected in Scotland and Northern Ireland” being used “to pay for additional teachers in England and Wales.”
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During the general election campaign, Labour said they would end tax breaks for private schools to help fund improvements to the state sector.
That means from January, independent schools will need to charge 20% VAT on their fees. The new government said the money would be used to pay for 6,500 teachers.
There have been calls from Northern Ireland Education Minister Paul Givan for schools in the province to not be subject to VAT as they are “funded differently.”
However, the Scottish Government is supportive of the plan.
Mr Wyatt said: “The UK Government is trying to rush through a policy without due and proper consideration to the material impact it will have, not only on schools in the independent and state sector, but also on children.
“Glasgow parents are not earning the same salaries as those in the ‘London bubble’, which the Government appears to have based this policy on.
“Implementing VAT at 20% on school fees in January will result in thousands, not hundreds, of pupils having to leave the independent sector and seek places in a state school system that does not have the capacity to receive them and particularly in the middle of the school year.
“Many of these pupils will be in the middle of crucial exam years, or in the early stages of their development. Education is about kindness and fairness, and this policy will not deliver that for children in any part of the Scottish system.”
Mr Wyatt — whose school charges around £17,000 a year — said the policy “must be delayed until the beginning of the next academic year when schools, parents, and pupils are better equipped to manage the transition.”
He added: “This implementation of this proposed policy is highly complex. As we have seen in comments from Northern Ireland Education Minister Paul Givan this week, the policy’s impact on devolved nations, where education is in the control of devolved governments, is different from England and Wales and should be treated as such.
“How can it be right for VAT collected in Scotland and Northern Ireland to pay for additional teachers in England and Wales as the UK Government proposes?
“The UK Government is using a reserved mechanism to tax a devolved area of government, with no clarity on how the money collected will benefit education in Scotland as, put simply, it can’t.
“We need clear answers on this before anything can move forward.”
Labour believes the change could raise an extra £1.7bn for the Treasury. Their manifesto for the general election said £150m in consequentials would come to Scotland.
However, that has yet to be confirmed, with Scottish Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth last week telling SNP conference that she had not had any confirmation about the money.
“I don't know if that's going to trigger consequentials,” she said at a fringe event organised by the EIS union. “That is creating uncertainty for me in my budget, and that is much more challenging.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “We have been clear that removing the VAT exemption on private school fees will break down barriers to opportunity by allowing us to improve our state schools. We are determined that every child, wherever they come from and whatever their background, has the same opportunity.”
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