Third of wealthy parents could quit private schools over fee VAT

A THIRD of wealthy parents could quit private schools if Labour adds VAT to fees, a poll shows.

Many of those said they would have to move their children to a state school if the policy was enacted.

Labour is planning to add 20 per cent VAT to independent school fees if it wins the next general election, which it estimates will raise an extra £1.6 billion for pupils in the state system.

The tax raid would impact nearly three quarters of private school families when it comes to choosing options for the future, the Saltus Wealth Index found.

Almost a third – 29 per cent – of those parents said the rising costs mean they would no longer be able to give their child or children a private education.

One in four parents said they would have to move their child or children out of private school and enrol them into a state school, just under half of whom said they would consider moving house to be in a better catchment area for high-performing state schools.

Half of parents who responded said they could keep their children in private education but would have to make changes – either moving them from boarding to day pupils or finding a cheaper school. A quarter said they would be unaffected by the VAT hike on fees, a flagship policy of Labour who are on track for a 1997-style landslide election victory this year, according to the latest polls.

In the poll of 2,000 people, conducted by Censuswide, some 25 per cent also accepted they would have to borrow money, either via a bank loan, longer mortgage or from friends and family, to afford the increase. Mike Stimpson, Partner at Saltus, said: “On average, private school fees increased by 6 per cent from 2022 to 2023 and these are likely to rise by a further 5 per cent this September.

“If Labour wins the next general election and carries out its pledge to impose VAT on school fees, then we could see the cost of private tuition rise by at least a further 20 per cent in the years to come. Price rises over the past few years are already having a significant impact on parents’ ability to pay and further rises will almost certainly price some families out of private education completely.”

It comes after an investigation found that private school pupils may have been flagged for inclusion in a Cambridge University scheme designed to help deprived teenagers.

Applicants from schools that have sent fewer than five pupils to Oxbridge in the past five years are identified as part of the university’s “widening participation” system. The university flagged at least 289 private schools for “low participation in Oxbridge” when assessing applications, the student newspaper, found. The scheme means that a candidate’s application is considered in the context of their school and geographic background.

A spokesman for the university said: “All applicants to the university are considered holistically and no one piece of data is considered in isolation, in line with the admissions policy. An applicant’s schooling is taken into account, particularly if they come from a school which has not seen many applications to Cambridge, alongside other socio-economic factors to indicate disadvantage of opportunity.”