Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the comparative value for money of investing £1.6 billion in VAT exemptions for independent schools and equivalent spending in the state sector.
The Department publishes data about schools, pupils, and their characteristics, including time series where appropriate. This is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics. This includes information held about children at independent schools.
The Department has not made any assessment of trends in the demographic profile of children attending independent schools.
The Department has not made any assessment of the implications of imposing VAT on independent school fees, either in relation to the amount that would be raised, or the value if spent in the state funded sector.