School Fees: VAT

Baroness Neville-Rolfe Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to my noble friend for the points that he makes, and I agree very much with what he is saying. As he knows, we are increasing per-pupil funding to record amounts. It is absolutely correct that we have heard many scare stories about this policy—that schools would close. Since VAT was applied on 1 January, private schools have continued to open and close in line with historic trends. As I have said already, 49 private schools have closed but 70 private schools have so far opened.

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con)]

I start by echoing the tributes to Lord Campbell. It seems only yesterday that he was with us. I believe that taxing education is a shabby policy, and we have seen some 50 schools close since the VAT on private schools was introduced. This is another example of Labour attacking the sectors of Britain that are most successful: in this case, our private schools. They are very well regarded internationally and key to our country’s academic successes. Has the Minister learned anything from this regrettable episode about how and where we tax?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. What I have learned from this episode is not to listen to scare stories from the party opposite. She talks about school closures; I am sorry that she did not listen to the figures that I gave. Yes, 49 private schools have closed but 70 private schools have opened, so obviously there is a net increase in the number of private schools in our country. There has historically been a significant turnover in this sector, with around 75 private schools in the UK opening and closing each year and the overall number of private schools remaining broadly stable.