Phillipson: Private schools ‘cried wolf’ over VAT raid

Bridget Phillipson has accused private schools of “crying wolf” over the imposition of VAT on fees.

Independent schools warned that thousands of parents would be unable to afford the increased fees and be forced to send their children to the state sector after Rachel Reeves’s budget imposed the levy for the first time.

But in an interview with the i newspaper, the Education Secretary said this dire prediction had not come to pass.

The independent sector had also warned that the influx of privately educated children flooding state schools would mean more parents would miss out on their first choice.

“I think we’ve seen a classic example of private schools and the Tories cry wolf, all the signs are that more parents than ever got their first-choice school offer this year,” she said.

In October, the Office for Budget Responsibility said the policy would mean 35,000 pupils would be unable to attend private schools as most of the increase would be passed on to parents.

Responding to the claims they had “cried wolf” over the impact of VAT, Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council, said: “The VAT on fees policy has already had a very real impact on schools and families.

“We remain concerned that there might not be the right spaces in the right places for children whose education is disrupted by this policy, especially exam students and those transferring mid-academic year.

“The full effects of this policy are yet to be seen, and we are particularly worried about how this tax on education will continue to impact families, specialist provision, and capacity in the state sector.”

Ms Phillipson also suggested that tuition fees may have to rise to keep universities afloat.

Officials privately admit that the decision could be made as part of the spending review.

Asked whether fees – unfrozen for the first time last year – will rise again this year, she said: “I was up-front last year when I made the decision for the first time in seven years to increase fees.”

Pressed on whether fees might increase above inflation, she said: “We’ll look at that as part of overall higher education reform.”

The Education Secretary hit out at union bosses threatening strike action over pay, despite large increases last year.

“The last thing that we need, the last thing that children need, is further disruption to their education, not least after everything they went through in the pandemic and the ongoing challenge that we still face in ensuring that children are regularly in school,” she said.

“Off the back of a 5.5 per cent pay award and additional money going into schools budgets, even in a challenging context for the public finances overall, I think it’s deeply irresponsible.”

She acknowledged that schools are going to have to find savings even to meet the Government’s preferred pay rise of 2.8 per cent.