In July 2024, the government announced that, as of 1 January 2025, the exemption of value added tax (VAT) on fee-paying school fees will come to an end, which is to say that school fees are, from that date, subject to VAT at the rate of 20 per cent. In November 2024, the Local Government Association (LGA) sent an online survey to Directors of Children’s Services within single-tier and county councils in England to understand what impact, if any, this measure may have on state secondary school places. Among the 153 single-tier and county councils in England, 67 responded to the survey – a response rate of 44 per cent.
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Key findings
- More than three quarters of respondents (78 per cent) reported that they had not seen an increase compared to last year in the number of applications to their state secondary schools.
- Among those who had seen an increase in applications compared to last year, the mean average percentage increase was 11 per cent, whilst the median average percentage increase was 3 per cent.
- There was not a strong feeling among those who had seen an increase that this increase was due to the ending of the VAT exemption; only a third (33 per cent) reported that they thought the increase was due, to a great or moderate extent, to the ending of the VAT exemption.
- Financial pressures were seen as a top reason as to why families are moving their children from fee-paying to state secondary schools, reported by 43 per cent of respondents.
- Among those who had seen an increase in applications, only 25 per cent were very or fairly confident that their authority could meet the increased demand for school places, whilst 42 per cent were not at all confident.
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LGA
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Research