Parents, teachers and students from Christian schools gathered at the Royal Courts of Justice as the Court of Appeal hears a legal challenge to Labour’s controversial imposition of VAT on private school fees.
The policy has been cited as the direct cause for the closure of a number of private schools, including Christian schools. The policy has particularly affected smaller schools which attempt to provide a private education to those with limited budgets.
One school that closed down following the policy was a cathedral choir school with an 850-year history. Exeter Cathedral School did not name the VAT policy as the reason for its closure, but did cite “unavoidable financial pressures.” Other Christian schools forced to close have pointed to the VAT charge, though, including Kilgraston, Scotland's only independent Catholic school for girls.
An appeal against the tax policy is being brought headteachers and families from Christian schools all over the country. They are being supported by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC) which estimates that more than 100 private schools have been forced to close, impacting 17,000 students.
The appeal claims that the tax has had a disproportionate impact on low-cost Christian schools attempting to serve deprived communities, as well as families who want their children to be educated in line with their faith, and children with SEND (Special Educational Needs).
One parent, Stephen White, spoke of the impact of the tax: “This policy forces families like mine into an impossible choice. We live simply so we can send our children to a school shaped by our faith.
“Labour has created a caricature of wealthy private schools, that’s not our reality. We are ordinary, hardworking families and this tax threatens to take away our children’s education overnight.”
Andrea Williams, CLC chief executive, said, “This is another example of ideological overreach by this Labour government.
"Education is not the sole responsibility of the state, nor should the state interfere in the rightful role of families.
"By imposing a direct tax on education, something no UK or Western government has ever done, the government is deliberately narrowing parental choice and forcing families into decisions they would not otherwise make."
Williams further accused Labour of what amounted to an “ideological” attack on freedom of choice.
“This case is about more than tax," she said.
"It is about whether the state should be allowed to crowd out family responsibility and conscience, creating conditions in which parents effectively have no choice but to submit to a single, state-approved model of education.
"It is about the fundamental freedom of parents to educate their children in accordance with their faith and deeply held beliefs.”
