Scrapping VAT and removing charitable schools - Labour policy - do you agree with it ?

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bluethrunthru

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I certainly do. Why do the kids of the super rich already a couple of rungs up the ladder of life get a further boost at the expense of funding for the less well off schools. Research shows that on a small %age would have to drop out on the grounds of affordability.

Fees have been rising fast over the last 15 years - out stripping inflation - but they have all hung in there. The idea its removing opportunities from loads of kids is for the birds. The schools - especially the top ones - are attended by the kids of the very rich from around the globe. It does not surprise me that Patel was greatly concerned about students coming from China to UK universities because they might over stay once their course is done. There no shortage of Visa's for kids of rich Chinese families to attend Eton and Harrow.

The days of a chartered accountant or a local solicitor being able to afford to send their kids to public schools has long gone - maybe if more kids from wealthier backgrounds go into local state schools maybe their parent will lobby their MP when the meet in the Con Club for a drink to ask them to drive up the quality of state schooling.

Meanwhile the oiks who have no choice are more and more deciding how best to feed their kids to stave off malnutrition and rickets and are thanking god you can buy a school uniform for a fiver in Lidl
 
Absolutely in favour. But it would be a brave politician who dared to implement this policy.
 
bluegirl74 said:
Absolutely in favour. But it would be a brave politician who dared to implement this policy.
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I heard today less than 3k kids attend public schools - how many are from UK families rather than from abroad? How often is there more than one child attending? The number of UK votes at risk over what - 600 seats? - there is a miniscule risk
 
bluethrunthru said:
I heard today less than 3k kids attend public schools - how many are from UK families rather than from abroad? How often is there more than one child attending? The number of UK votes at risk over what - 600 seats? - there is a miniscule risk
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I doubt that numbers have dropped so low as that, even with rising fees. I know a number of families who will prioritise school fees over other discretionary spending simply because of the huge advantages of a private education.
Traditionally c2,500 schools educating c600k students or 7% of the education population.
 
bluethrunthru said:
I heard today less than 3k kids attend public schools - how many are from UK families rather than from abroad? How often is there more than one child attending? The number of UK votes at risk over what - 600 seats? - there is a miniscule risk
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Those figures make no sense. There are far more than 3000 kids at private schools in the UK.

And no, I don't agree with it.
 
bluethrunthru said:
The days of a chartered accountant or a local solicitor being able to afford to send their kids to public schools has long gone...
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Thats not really true though unless you are just looking at Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Westminster or Fettes where its a minimum of 30k+ per year.

There are lots of other public schools (fee paying independent schools) which are less well known that are around 15k per year. These are more than affordable as my nextdoor neighbour, a chartered accountant, who sends her 3 kids to a nearby independent school, would attest.

If the schools offer a significant number of scholarships which allow gifted kids via entrance exams, regardless of financial means, a place to get a high quality education then maybe charitable status is valid. What a significant number of scholarships is, well thats open to debate, but to me it wouldnt be unreasonable to say 15%.

Those however that are only open to the exceptionally wealthy should be taxed fully and stripped of charitable status.
 
KnaresboroughBlue said:
Those figures make no sense. There are far more than 3000 kids at private schools in the UK.

And no, I don't agree with it.
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You are right - as I say I heard it on the radio - google tells me there are 2600 SCHOOLS with 615k attendee's - still a drop in the votes ocean
 
drthingy said:
Nah it’ll just hit the ones that can only just afford it. The wealthy will keep on paying,
it’ll be used as an excuse for private schools to remove any free/subsidized places.
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If they remove the bursary funded places they have been forced to accept then effectively that busts open all the arguments that justify their continued existence
 
bluethrunthru said:
If they remove the bursary funded places they have been forced to accept then effectively that busts open all the arguments that justify their continued existence
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They will continue to exist as long as there is a demand for them. I doubt that demand is going away any time soon.
 
Kompany Car said:
Thats not really true though unless you are just looking at Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Westminster or Fettes where its a minimum of 30k+ per year.

There are lots of other public schools (fee paying independent schools) which are less well known that are around 15k per year. These are more than affordable as my nextdoor neighbour, a chartered accountant, who sends her 3 kids to a nearby independent school, would attest.

If the schools offer a significant number of scholarships which allow gifted kids via entrance exams, regardless of financial means, a place to get a high quality education then maybe charitable status is valid. What a significant number of scholarships is, well thats open to debate, but to me it wouldnt be unreasonable to say 15%.

Those however that are only open to the exceptionally wealthy should be taxed fully and stripped of charitable status.
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the Nuffield Foundation research says that between 3 to 5% of kids would have to leave over affordability - thats 20-40k attendee's - there are over 32k state schools and colleges currently. So its likey they will be looking to accept a couple each.
 
I would actually look at all the ancient endowments of schools (and universities) and check whether they were strictly meeting the intent of the original beneficiary. I am all but certain that some, maybe most, are not. If not, the endowments would be nationalised and the proceeds used to create a support fund for all educational establishments.

Unprecedented confiscation? Not at all. My precedent is Thomas Cromwell's disendowment of the monasteries. Of course, the vested interests would moan like Scousers after a defeat, but fuck 'em.
 
I don’t want the tories to stay in but bloody hell a credible alternative with sensible policies would be nice.

this isn’t a well thought through policy just a cheap vote winner where the only beneficiaries will be the elite private schools and the excessively wealthy.
 
KnaresboroughBlue said:
There are plenty who are far from rich that send their children to private schools. If they wish to spend their money on that, I see no problem with it.
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Nor do I - they should just pay VAT and stand the usual test to PROVE they are charitable concerns like say AGE UK does
 
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