VAT on School Fees Debate: The SEND Perspective
As part of our consultation, we are also able to introduce our client families to a specialist in school fees planning and long-term financial planning, to help either mitigate or provide the resources for increased fees and costs.
After much of the initial furore over the government’s policy of applying VAT to private school fees, it seems that the impact of the policy, and its many potential secondary effects, is now starting to be noticed in the media and in parliament.
At the weekend, The Telegraph and other outlets reported that the mother of a child with Special Needs, is mounting a judicial review of the policy, claiming that the government hasn’t considered the impact of the policy on disabled children. The Independent Schools Council is calling for an exemption for the estimated 96,000 pupils with Special Needs currently in Independent Schools, many of whom require highly specialised care and curricula that isn’t available through their local authority. Indeed, some local authorities actively use the independent sector as a provider of specialist education because they are unable to cost-effectively provide for that in-house. However, it seems that the call for an exemption has fallen on deaf ears as some Labour MPs are concerned that it could lead to abuse by mainstream independent schools who could declare themselves special schools in order to avoid having to charge VAT.
We have already been speaking to a lot of parents who are recalibrating their plans and finances in light of the decision. Some families will make use of additional specialists such as Speech & Language (SaLT), Occupational Therapists (OT) and Nannies, as well as one-to-one specialists who work with their child in the classroom. Some have been exploring options such as home-schooling, or on the financial side, making longer-term plans to fund their child’s ongoing support, in some cases into adulthood.
As part of our consultation, we are also able to introduce our client families to a specialist in school fees planning and long-term financial planning, to help either mitigate or provide the resources for increased fees and costs. Please get in touch if you would like to set up a confidential meeting where our partners can talk through your options.