Private school fees to rise by £300 as tax relief axed
PARENTS who send their children to private schools are set to see fees soar by £300 a year, ministers have admitted. The SNP Government has confirmed it plans to drop charitable relief for independent schools.
Under questioning from MSPs yesterday, Finance Secretary Derek Mackay admitted the changes could lead to average school fees rising by £300 a year per pupil. But he claimed the ‘financial shock’ would not be severe enough to cause a ‘mass exodus’ into state schools.
He also said private schools would not cut bursaries for poorer students because of his reforms – as they wouldn’t want to be branded ‘elitist’.
The comments were criticised by independent school leaders, who accused Mr Mackay of making decisions based on ‘socio-economic grounds’ rather than financial evidence.
After being pressed during his appearance at the local government committee yesterday on the impact of the decision on state schools, Mr Mackay said: ‘The estimated average charity relief per pupil is £225. The average fees paid per pupil are estimated to be around £13,700 per annum – these are averages based on the work we’ve done.
‘Total fees are estimated to be around £374million, so charity rates relief therefore represents around 1.6 per cent of the average fees paid.
‘So for around 80 per cent of pupils that we’ve been able to look at, the numbers we have, the average charity relief will be £300 or less.
‘I’m trying to put into context that if the response of those independent schools that would be covered by the policy – that’s mainstream independent schools – is such that it amounts to those figures, that is not such a financial shock that I think would lead to a mass exodus from independent schools to the state sector.’
He claimed that no concerns had been raised by the City of Edinburgh Council, the local authority with the largest proportion of independent schools.
Mr Mackay admitted that concerns have been raised with him that his proposals could lead to cuts to bursaries for students from poorer backgrounds. But he said: ‘I don’t think there would be a rush from independent mainstream schools to become – or to have a perception that they are becoming – elitist or more elitist.’
The comments provoked a furious response from Scottish Council of Independent Schools director John Edward.
He said: ‘If you think that is a negligible difference to parents then you have got to get out to speak to some parents. You can’t assume all are some rarefied group of people that can afford anything that is thrown at them.
‘I don’t know whether they think there are endless pools of cash but they seem to be making a judgment on parents and the sector on some socio-economic grounds rather than using financial evidence.’
Scottish Conservative education spokesman Liz Smith said: ‘It’s quite wrong for the Finance Secretary to brush off the additional costs for parents in this way.
‘He may not think it’s a significant amount of money but many parents will, especially on top of other financial pressures on family budgets created by the SNP.
‘Just as importantly, there will be a negative impact on the bursary provision available for pupils from poorer backgrounds – exactly the opposite effect that should be expected from a party that says it is trying to widen access and reduce inequality.
‘The SNP has not thought through the implications of this policy, nor is it clear how it will implement it.’
‘Negative impact on bursaries’