Bridget Phillipson says private schools have had 'ample time to prepare' for the move (Image: Getty)
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has refused to rule out VAT on private school fees being introduced earlier than planned.
It was thought the tax raid would start in September next year, but the Cabinet minister did not shoot down the suggestion it could take effect from January.
She said private schools have had “ample time to prepare” for Labour’s proposed tax rise.
Ms Phillipson said: “Schools should be planning for the introduction of this change, which we first set out in 2021. We have been clear about our position on this for some time. We do want to move as quickly as we can.
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“But you’ll appreciate further measures in terms of the implementation and timescale around it are matters for the Chancellor in a fiscal event and will be presented before Parliament in the usual way.”
Asked again if it would be January, she said: “We want to move as quickly as we can on this. As I say, Rachel Reeves will set out the exact timescale.
“But we first set out this policy in 2021, so I do think schools have had ample time to prepare and my priority is about making sure that we deliver a better education, more teachers and more mental health support in our state schools, where 93 percent of our children will be.”
The Labour Government confirmed its plans to to impose VAT on private school fees to fund new teachers in state classrooms in the King’s Speech last week.
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The Tories have previously warned there are about 2,400 independent schools in England and they are “at risk of losing pupils” under the plan.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak predicted the plan to impose VAT on private schools would cause “chaos” for families.
The Conservatives claimed up to 134,000 children in private schools could be forced into the state sector by September, although the 2018 report on which this assertion is based points to that figure as a possibility over five years.
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