Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is Government policy to change the tax status of independent schools that do not make progress on supporting state schools.

The government has no plans to change the tax status of independent schools.

The government has agreed a joint understanding with the Independent Schools Council to encourage more independent schools to work in partnership with state-funded schools across 4 key areas: governance, teaching, curriculum and targeted school improvement. It also encourages independent schools to offer a greater number of full bursary places, targeted at children from disadvantaged backgrounds.