A group of private schools, students and their parents have lost a High Court’s challenge to implement VAT on fees.
It comes after the launch of six families last year Legal challenge against the government’s controversial raid, Claiming tax raids is discriminatory with some students.
But Dame Victoria Sharp, Lord Justice New and Mr. Justice Chamberlain said in the 94-page judgment that when the law intervens in some human rights of the group, “There is a comprehensive margin of discretion in deciding how to balance the interests of the people affected by other people, which may be funded by money.”
The legal challenge claimed the policy – which imposes 20 percent VAT on private schools – causes unnecessary damage to some categories of children, such as with special education needs (SEN).
Families supported by Independent school council (ISC)Therefore, the Human Rights Act was demanding an announcement of inconvenience under Section 4, saying that the new tax is incompatible with ECHR rights.
ISC is a UK-based organization that represents more than 1,400 independent schools.
During a hearing in April, Lord David Panik, who represented a group of children and their parents, said that at present some children do not meet their needs by state schools, but the new law applies “despite the need of the family.
The High Court was told that along with religious beliefs and Sen, some children are individually educated due to the need for a single-sex environment due to previous abuse, or because they are temporarily in Britain and need to educate them to suit the national course of their home.
But representing Sir James ED KC, Treasury, HMRC and DFE, stated that abolishing VAT exemption for private school fees was a major feature of labor manifesto in the last general election and is expected to yield between £ 1.5 and £ 1.7 billion per year.
Although the legal challenge is not able to reverse it even if it is successful when it is successful in its track, even if it is successful, it will be a major setback for ministers and pressurize them to consider further exemption.
The government has estimated that the tax raid would increase £ 1.7BN per year by 2029–30, which said that 6,500 new teachers would be used to fund the state schools.
So far, England have declined by more than 11,000 in the effigy number of private school, after the tax hike, the department showed the education data.
In January 2025, English private schools had around 582,500 students, which was below 593,500 at the same point last year.
When the policy was introduced, the Treasury Impact Assessment estimated that VAT’s introduction resulted in an increase of about 10 percent in private school fees,
But in May, ISC data showed that the fees have increased by 22.6 percent in the previous year, with parents now paying more than £ 22,000 per year.
On average, the Treasury has predicted that 35,000 students would move “long -term stable states” in UK state schools.
Another 2,000 children would leave private schools, the department estimated, including international students, who do not go to the UK state system or domestic students who go to home schooling.
