A group of children, parents and education providers – including some related to Charedi schools – have lost a legal challenge to the government’s decision to impose VAT on private schools.
The High Court this morning rejected the claimant’s assertion that the new measures, which will see “all education and boarding services” provided by the private sector taxed at 20 per cent, violated their human rights.
In opposing the levy, the group claimed that it was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights’ (ECHR) protections against discrimination, of the right to education and of property rights.
However, the court ruled that, while government could not ban private schools altogether, the imposition of a tax upon them would not “impair the very essence of the right” to education as long as children had the option to attend a mainstream state school instead.
It also suggested that the ECHR afforded the state a “broad margin of discretion” for reshaping the education system on the condition that universal access to education is maintained.
According to the court, there was “no less intrusive” way to implement the government’s desired policy without “unacceptably compromising the achievement of the objective”.
The court also specifically examined the claim that the tax would be discriminatory as very few state schools offer the level of religious education preferred by the Charedi community.
While the justices admitted that they were “concerned” by the impact the tax may have on Orthodox education and “sympathetic” to the financial burden it would place on Charedi families, they ruled that the question of whether to create an exemption for Charedi schools fundamentally fell within the purview of Parliament rather than the courts.
The ruling pointed out that such an exemption was considered by the Commons last October but did not proceed, adding: “In other words, the matter was before Parliament, which decided not to create any exemption.”
It also ruled out any broad exemption for schools “with a religious ethos”, which could encompass high-profile targets of the tax like Eton, Harrow and Winchester, saying that such a carve-out was not required in law and would compromise the government’s policy.
However, the judgement is likely to deepen concern around the affordability of Jewish religious education.
Just last week, Shiras Devorah, a Charedi girls’ school in Golders Green, was forced to close for three days as it wasn’t able to pay teachers due to funding pressures.
Administrators claim that the upcoming increase in business rates and imposition of VAT will make it even harder to balance the books and could cause further closures.
Commenting on the ruling, Robert Lewis, Partner and head of the education group at Mischcon De Reya LLP, said: “The High Court judgment – a result many anticipated - will be a disappointment to independent schools and the families who entrust them with their children’s education.
"From the outset, the claim faced formidable legal obstacles: it sought to overturn a fully democratically endorsed policy; one introduced in the Labour manifesto, debated in Parliament, and enacted into law.
"Nonetheless, the judgment does offer a modest but meaningful silver lining for independent schools [as] it observes that an outright ban on independent schools would likely breach the UK’s obligations under the ECHR."
