Labour Facing High Court Legal Challenge

[naomi24]

//Labour’s proposal to impose VAT on private school fees from January is facing a High Court legal challenge on grounds that it breaches human rights law.... The policy has already drawn significant criticism, and further legal claims related to military families and those attending faith schools may be forthcoming.  //

 

https://bmmagazine.co.uk/news/labours-vat-on-private-school-fees-faces-high-court-challenge-over-human-rights-concerns/

 

Could that, together with the furore over the demise of winter fuel payments for most elderly people, see some furious back-pedalling from the government in the near future?

[New Judge]

"...why should some in effect get an unnecessary hand out from the public purse in the form of a tax exemption ?"

Because every State pupil costs the taxpayer around £7,600 pa. This means parents of pupils at private schools are saving the Exchequer that sum. 

[jourdain2]

Does anyone feel, like me, that adopting the French system I described would be sensible? All schools would have to 'up their game'.

[tomus42]

//Could that, together with the furore over the demise of winter fuel payments for most elderly people, see some furious back-pedalling from the government in the near future?//

No. They've got a massive majority thanks to the Tories being so useless.

[Old_Geezer]

They wouldn't be saving them that sum if they allowed class sizes to return to the norm from when I went to school.  The marginal cost of adding one pupil to a school & class that is already budgeted for and running, would be marginal. Besides that, it is the government's job to ensure a basic education for all citizens.

[jourdain2]

O_G  One problem is that classrooms have been built to accommodate smaller classes.  I had one group of 33 (normal in my day) which entailed having 1 pupil using the other side of the teacher's desk and 2 others using the storage heaters for writing areas - I had a rota so each took a turn.  Chairs were borrowed from another class for that lesson and had to be returned afterwards - ate up teaching time when added up.

[Old_Geezer]

Lack of foresight from the authorities again.

Well, maybe as they demolish the dodgy cement buildings they can replace them with a better floor plan construction.