Much as I would love to see a U-turn on VAT on Independent School fees I would like to use this opportunity to ask for your support on a separate but not unrelated matter. The loss of business rates relief for Charitable Independent Schools has arguably been just as damaging to the sector and resulted in the closure of far too many schools in the past year. The loss of business rates relief is not being given the attention it should be receiving. It was never part of the Labour manifesto but it has played a direct part in over 25,000 children being displaced from their schools with the expectation that this figure will more than double in the near future. Please help me to get this issue looked at and reconsidered by the Government. Do I believe the Government will voluntarily change their position? Not for one moment but what is being sought here is for many voices to speak out and for a call for fairness. Charitable Independent Schools are the only charity from whom business rates relief has been withdrawn. All other fee charging educational establishments, including nurseries and universities, still retain their business rates relief. It is clearly discrimination and should be called out for what it is. Please support and share this petition. If we simply accept all that has happened and do nothing about it, we cannot complain about the outcome so let’s at least ‘try’ and do something. The Labour Party claim to be the party of change and we need to play our part in bringing about positive change. Leigh Ingham Andrew Lewer Independent Schools Association (ISA) IAPS House of Commons UK House of Lords Irfan H Latif FRSA Christine Cunniffe Guy Ayling Mieka Smiles Aubrey Allegretti Elizabeth Ivens Anna Gross Miles Latham Laura Trott MBE Mark Lauder Susan Hannam Tom Rogerson James Wilding Michelle Catterson Michelle Daniells Association For Families Of Independent Schooling (AFIS) C.I.C. Craig J. Pieter Snepvangers Paul Dunstan Alex McGrath Peter Hogan #businessrates #discrimination #education #charities #independentschools https://c.org/mpY9pY97Sf
Good luck, the Green Party is proposing a windfall tax. It won’t actually raise any money but, like VAT, I don’t suppose that’s the point. This feels (and I say this as a Welshman) rather like Thatchers war on the miners. Labour WANT job losses. Labour WANT communities ripped apart and Labour (with their sister party the Greens) have only just gotten started.
All credit to you Nicholas Pietrek for highlighting this under-reported, not very well understood issue AND doing something tangible about it. We are working on an AFIS campaign that aligns with your perspective: 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮? 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧, 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 We’d love to collaborate and will be in touch.
I know that I'm connected to a tremendous amount of UK educators and some not UK educators too. Send this on if you can. Some parts of your national heritage and intellectual property have been casually eliminated by these taxes.
Nicholas Pietrek thanks for sharing and I’ll sign the petition. Aside from the withdrawal of business rates relief for Charitable Schools, it’s not clear from your post whether the recent (petty) change in VAT also applies to Charitable Schools, or Schools operated within charitable, community benefit societies.
Signed and shared
Why does charging fees make one type of charity uniquely undeserving of business rates relief, but not others? Across the charitable sector, many organisations charge for services, yet continue to be recognised and supported as charities. If the rationale is that independent schools are “businesses” because they charge fees, then the question becomes: Why does that logic not apply consistently to other charities that also generate income in a similar way? What is the principle that justifies this distinction? And where does it stop? Because if one category of charity can be singled out in this way, it raises a much broader issue. This is not just about independent schools, it’s about consistency, fairness, and the precedent being set. At the heart of all of this are real, human consequences: children being displaced, families facing uncertainty and trauma, staff losing jobs, suppliers at risk, and communities losing long-standing institutions. It’s entirely reasonable to ask: is this distinction principled, or simply selective? If this goes unchallenged, it’s hard to argue that other charities won’t face similar treatment in future. Thank you for challenging it boldly Nicholas Pietrek.
I completely agree this isn’t getting the attention it deserves. Whatever people’s views on independent schools, the reality is that removing business rates relief from charitable schools has had very real consequences for families and children. Displacement on this scale isn’t theoretical, it’s happening now, and it puts pressure on the wider system too. What doesn’t sit right is the inconsistency. If other fee-charging educational settings still qualify for relief, then this clearly needs a closer look. At the very least, it should be applied fairly across the board.
When is a charity not a charity? A precedent has been set where one class of charity has been excluded from a long-standing relief based on the nature of its income model. That raises important questions for all charities that charge fees or operate trading activities Charitable status for independent schools has not changed. Public-benefit obligations for these schools have not changed, The ordinary basis of rates relief has not changed for other sectors. BUT, independent schools have been singled out by a bespoke exclusion. Independent schools did not cease to be charities for rates purposes; Parliament has singled out one class of charity for different treatment. Why? This should not go unchallenged. After signing Nicholas Pietrek's petition, please consider joining the Association For Families Of Independent Schooling (AFIS) C.I.C. so that we can build a larger, stronger, louder movement to support Nicholas's campaign and continue to fight the good fight.
Don’t forget to share if you are happy to promote the petition. https://c.org/mpY9pY97Sf