Preserving faith-based education: the threat of VAT on fees

??There are many reasons why parents might choose to educate their child in the independent sector; to access specialist education provision, alternative approaches to assessment, or less common extracurricular activities. Another attractive feature is the supply of faith-based education – independent schools provide Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Quaker and Hindu schooling. The proposal to add VAT to school fees risks disrupting the education of pupils in these settings and threatens to add further pressure to the state system.

It’s clear that faith schools are a popular choice for many families; across the independent sector as a whole, 370,000 pupils attend faith schools, equating to 60 per cent of all independently educated children. Parents have the right to choose faith-based education for their children – this is enshrined in human rights law – and this provision is especially important for observant families.

So, how exactly would VAT on fees impact these schools and the children they educate?

The key risks are threefold. Firstly, the policy threatens to make faith schools unaffordable for parents. These schools are often small and charge low fees, as they are supported by their local congregation. Parents and their wider communities may struggle to afford a sudden rise in costs.

Secondly, the imposition of VAT on fees risks pushing small faith schools into deficit, or even closure. Many operate on tight budgets and are already contending with an array of financial pressures, including high interest rates, rising energy costs and high pension contributions.

Finally, the policy would add further pressure to state schools, where there may not be equivalent provision for religious education. Pupils displaced from independent schools would add strain to state schools, which are already stretched in terms of capacity and resource.

The overarching issue linking these three together is the potential for parents to effectively lose their ability to choose faith education, meaning their children miss out on schooling in line with their religious tradition.

??In recognition of the challenges that lie ahead, we are asking Labour for:

1.????? Small faith schools and their pupils to be protected in any tax policy.

2.????? A full equality impact assessment, to ensure any adverse consequences are properly understood and addressed.

Parents should be free to choose a school best suited to their child, and it is important that their right to faith-based education is not infringed by punitive tax measures.