Parents and private schools have lost their legal battle against VAT on fees in the High Court.
The judgment on Friday morning dismissed the arguments made by three separate groups that the new government policy discriminated against children with special educational needs among others.
The Independent Schools Council (ISC) said it was disappointed by the ruling which came after a three-day hearing in April.
The Treasury, Department for Education and HMRC were named in the application for a judicial review which claimed VAT on fees was discriminatory and a breach of human rights law.
Nearly 20 families and faith schools had joined forces with the ISC to challenge the policy, which was part of Labour’s general election manifesto, saying it was unfair to those wanting a faith school or single-sex education and children with special educational needs but without an education health and care plan.
• Private school pupil numbers drop by 11,000 after VAT hikeSchools and parents were surprised when the tax was introduced in January rather than at the start of the next academic year. The government repeatedly said it would raise at least £1.6 billion a year which would be ploughed back into state schools including paying for 6,500 more teachers. But Sir Keir Starmer was widely criticised on Thursday for saying on social media that the VAT windfall would fund new housing.If you often open multiple tabs and struggle to keep track of them, Tabs Reminder is the solution you need. Tabs Reminder lets you set reminders for tabs so you can close them and get notified about them later. Never lose track of important tabs again with Tabs Reminder!
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