The leader of Nottinghamshire County Council has defended private schools, saying a Labour tax on them would mean parents like his own would be unable to afford them. Labour is proposing a 20 per cent VAT charge on private schools, potentially raising £1.6b per year for state schools, if it wins the forthcoming 2024 General Election.
About 4,000 children in Nottinghamshire currently attend private schools. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has found higher fees would mean seven per cent of parents would have to use the state sector, Cllr Bradley said. “My primary school decided they couldn’t deal with me at the end of year five for various reasons. My parents sold their house, they sold their cars, they downsized, they cancelled our holidays in order to send me to Derby Grammar School and it changed my life.