The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is to launch legal action against the government’s policy to place VAT on private school fees.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed in the Budget this week that the government’s plans to add 20 per cent VAT to private school fees will go ahead from 1 January 2025.
This is expected to raise more than £1.7 billion a year by 2029-30, according to the Treasury’s policy costings.
The ISC, an umbrella body for seven associations representing over 1,400 independent schools, has appointed human rights barrister Lord Pannick KC, alongside Paul Luckhurst from Blackstone Chambers and the legal firm Kingsley Napley, to take on the government over the policy.
The case will focus on breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998, the ISC said, adding that the action will be separate from other litigation already launched by individual schools and parents against the government’s policy.
In a response to its formal consultation on the policy, the Treasury said the new levy is consistent with all of the UK’s human rights obligations.
Legal proceedings will begin shortly, the ISC said.
Legal action decision not ‘taken lightly’
“This is a decision that has not been taken lightly and has been under consideration for many months,” said Julie Robinson, CEO of ISC.
“At all points throughout this debate, our focus has been on the children in our schools who would be negatively impacted by this policy.
“This focus remains and we will be defending the rights of families who have chosen independent education, but who may no longer be able to do so as a direct result of an unprecedented education tax.”
The legal action comes after ISC previously joined with teaching unions to urge the government to delay the policy.
In a response to the Treasury’s consultation, both the ISC and the Association of School and College Leaders urged for the policy to be pushed back to September 2025 - with ISC adding that it would be “more practical” for schools that have already set their budgets for the current academic year.
The ISC has also expressed concerns at the latest round of Treasury guidance, calling it “poorly drafted” and warned that it “does not give schools the information they need to operate VAT from January”.
For the latest education news and analysis delivered every weekday morning, sign up for the Tes Daily newsletter
