Derby school to launch challenge over VAT increase

A Derby school is launching a court challenge against the government’s imposition of VAT on fees.

Emmanuel House and other faith schools claim the tax would unlawfully discriminate against them as it could force Christian schools to close.

The government says the money raised by imposing VAT would be used to improve standards in the state sector.

The changes are set to come into force in January 2025.

The school in Kedleston Road is one of three schools set to challenge the government.

Emmanuel School, which has 63 pupils, was established in 1988 and currently charges £4,320 per year.

Headteacher Ben Snowdon said: “The families that we have at Emmanuel are not wealthy, they are choosing to send their children here and they are making sacrifices because of that.

“For some of them, an additional 20% on top of what they are currently paying would be too much, they wouldn’t be able to manage that and then they would have to make decisions about what they were going to do about their children’s education.”

The action is backed by the Christian Legal Centre and also also involves the Branch Christian School in Yorkshire and the King’s School in Hampshire.

The schools are also concerned pupils with special needs may be unable to finish qualifications and access tertiary education.

The independent IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies) has predicted the tax would raise between £1.3 and £1.5billion per year.

The government says the money raised would to go towards the public finances and help improve education and outcomes for young people.

Ministers said they don’t expect raising VAT will cause private school fees to go up by 20% as they don’t have to reflect the increase in what they charge.

The government has said it expects private schools will try to minimise any fee increases.

But Mr Snowdon said: “Our parents pay quite low fees and we keep a very tight budget because of that.

“Therefore, we wouldn’t be able to absorb that 20% increase in our costs on the fees. We would have to pass the majority or all of that on to our parents”.

Previously, a spokesperson for His Majesty’s Treasury said: “Ending tax breaks on private schools will help to raise the revenue needed to fund our education priorities for next year, such as recruiting 6,500 new teachers.”