Pupil numbers: 'We have never seen a drop as severe as this', warns ISC head of comms
Sarah Cunnane, the Independent Schools Council’s (ISC) head of media and communications, was interviewed by Vicki Young on BBC Politics Live yesterday during a discussion on the impact of the government’s VAT on school fees policy.
Ms Young asked if the tax was thought to be the main reason for the falling numbers, to which Ms Cunnane responded: "There have been cost of living crises before, there have been recessions before... but we have never seen a dop that is as severe as this."
Describing the impact of the VAT on fees policy in Scotland in particular, Ms Cunnane said: "We are now seeing that this policy is costing the government more money than it is bringing in." During the interview, she outlined the significant benefits of the independent sector, providing diversity and parental choice in addition to relieving pressure on the state sector.
Labour MP Lola McEvoy, who was asked for her views on the policy, likened fees pre-VAT to a "discount", to which Ms Cunnane said: "It is not a discount nor a subsidy. A tax being imposed on fees is very, very different." She explained: "VAT is not charged on school fees across the world... education is seen as a public good."
Echoing Ms Cunnane's concerns, former Brexit MEP Lucy Harris said adding pressure to the state sector, and imposing a tax on fees, is a "bad thing", explaining that in doing so the resources to educate all children are subsequently reduced.
In her concluding remarks, Ms Cunnane reminded the panel that children must remain at the heart of the debate on VAT on fees, stressing that the Department for Education has a responsibility to all children in the UK, not only those educated in the state sector.