State school warning over Labour private school VAT

A head teacher from Staffordshire has claimed Labour's plan to add VAT to private school fees could cause financial harm both to his sector and cash-strapped state schools.

Peter McNabb from St. Dominic's Grammar School in Brewood told the BBC he expects pupils to leave and take up places in the state sector.

Speaking in Halesowen after Labour's manifesto launch this week, leader Sir Keir Starmer insisted the policy was a "tough decision" which was "necessary" to fund training to fix a shortage of teachers.

Under current legislation the price of sending a child to a fee-paying school does not include VAT, at a rate of 20%.

If Labour forms the next government they plan to change that and use the additional tax revenue to train more teachers, citing an estimated shortage of 6,000.

St Dominic's offers an independent school education from the age of four to 18.

Fees at the school are lower than some, from £6,000 a year.

Mr McNabb warned: "There's no business which would be able to afford a 20% reduction in their income."

"Sadly, that is going to have to be passed on. As a result it may be that some parents cannot afford to bring their children into our school and so would have to leave and go into the state school sector, which is already struggling."

He denied the suggestion that a private education is only something enjoyed by the most wealthy.

"There are no chauffeur-driven cars here. Most of our pupils here, both of their parents are working hard.

"In some cases aunts, uncles and grandparents are contributing, because they want the best opportunity to stay here."

Sir Keir Starmer met party members at a campaign event in Halesowen this week.

When asked by the BBC if he was deterred by concerns over his policy, he admitted it had been a "tough decision" to make.

"I understand that parents save and work hard to send their children to private school, because they have aspirations for their children. But we all have aspirations for our children," he said.

He added that state schools were experiencing a "recruitment crisis" with an estimated 6,000 vacancies.

"We don't have enough teachers for basic subjects like maths. So we have taken the decision to remove the tax break for private schools and use that money directly to pay for teachers.

"I believe that every child, whatever their background, should be able to have the best opportunities in life."

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