Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to prevent parents from avoiding paying VAT on private school fees by paying several years' fees in advance.

All fees paid since the tax changes were announced on 29 July 2024, in relation to terms after 1 January 2025, are subject to VAT. HMRC is scrutinising the detail of any pre-payment schemes and stands ready to challenge the validity of these schemes.