Government to face Judicial Review from Christian schools over VAT tax raid
28 March 2025 Issued by: Christian ConcernNext week at the High Court, the government will face a Judicial Review of its unprecedented VAT policies on private and independent Christian schools.
The government’s decision to impose VAT on the provision of education by independent schools has made the UK an outlier among the 46 Council of Europe States.
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Christian schools, parents and pupils are bringing the challenge from the award-winning Emmanuel School in Derby, the Branch Christian School in Yorkshire, the King’s School in Hampshire and the Wyclif Independent Christian School in South Wales.
The Christian claimants say that Labour government is illegally discriminating against them through the policy and seek a declaration that the government’s amendment of the VAT Act 1994 is unlawful and incompatible with their human rights under Article 14 of the ECHR.
They say the VAT extension disproportionately impacts parents, and in particular a set of Christian parents, who have chosen for their children to be educated in Christian schools which have predominantly Christian teachers and cover all subjects from a Christian worldview perspective.
The case challenges the decisions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves. Interested parties and interveners include: the Commissioner for HM Revenue and Customs, the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Philipson.
The hearing, which will be held at the High Court’s Administrative Court from Tuesday 1 – 3 April, is a joinder appeal alongside the Independent Schools Council and Education not Discrimination.
Headteachers and parents will be outside court before the hearing with a visual display and available for interview.
If successful, the government would need to decide whether to amend or withdraw the policy. They could also appeal the decision. If unsuccessful, the claimants’ legal teams will review the judgment and consider an appeal.
The legal claim comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a draft bill on 29 July 2024, which included plans to pass legislation through the Finance Bill for the 2024/2025 Budget which will amend the VAT Act 1994.
Private schools across the country are already beginning to close after the policy began to take effect on 1 January 2025 despite significant opposition.
A father’s battle for Christian education
One parent bringing the claim who will be at court at the start of next week’s hearing is bookseller Stephen White.
Mr White has chosen to live in one of the most deprived areas of Bradford so that he can afford to send his four children to the Bradford Christian School based in the Yorkshire city.
Mr White, whose 14-year-old son, Josiah, is also a claimant in the case, said: “As Christians, we believe that it is our duty as parents to raise our children in line with our beliefs. This policy denies us this right and choice and must be challenged.”
He says the government’s policy is ‘unjust and ‘discriminatory’ and will force him to home-school his children as the heavy secularisation of state schools, and even Church of England schools, mean that his children would not be taught in line with the family’s Christian beliefs.
He accuses Labour of creating a “caricature of wealthy schools full of wealthy parents”, which is “not the reality”.
‘Pupils not from affluent backgrounds’
Headteachers at four independent Christian schools have also become claimants in the case:
The Branch Christian School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire is an independent school providing Christian education for children aged 3 – 18 years.
Headteacher, Jill Holt, said ahead of the hearing: “Most of our parents come to us because they want their child to be taught in a school that agrees with their Christian values. Whilst many parents of our students would feel compelled to home school if we were not able to remain open, most of our parents need to work which means they aren’t in a position to home school; additionally, many of them don’t feel adequately equipped to home school.
“The Government claims to be imposing the VAT to secure extra funding for state schools; the reality is that it would cost the government more if our students went to state schools as they give state schools over £7000 per 5–16-year-old. The addition of VAT would be an increased burden for the parent of nearly £800. For some of our lower income families this is a significant amount. We keep our fees low to be able to give all parents, no matter their economic status, the right to choose the education for their child. In respect to small schools like ours that exist on very low fees, the argument just doesn’t add up.
“Due to the increase in cost to the parents, the impact could be that parents are priced out of having a choice to send their child to a school that has values in line with their Christian beliefs and the government is removing the parents right of choice.”
Wyclif Independent Christian school in South Wales (WICS), which is the only school of its type in the region. Launched in 1982 by two fathers who wanted to provide Christian education to the area, it now has 200 pupils, but is now preparing to be significantly impacted by the policy.
Adam Fairman, a Governor at WICS, said: “We have a long history of keeping Christian education affordable for all families who want it. We have joined this case to keep it that way as 20% VAT would put us out of reach of low income families.”
Caroline Santer, is Headteacher at The King’s School, Fair Oak, in Hampshire, which provides high-quality Christ-centred education to currently 237 girls and boys aged 4 – 16 years. She said: “There are no winners with this legislation. Thousands of privately educated children are at risk of having their education disrupted if their schools close or if their parents cannot afford the fees.
“State schools are at risk of being put under further pressure with more pupil admissions. Local councils are at risk of bankruptcy as they will struggle to fund children who can manage without an EHCP in smaller independent schools, but who will need far more support in the state system. They will also have to cover significant transport costs for those children who will have to be placed in out of catchment schools.
“Education and training has always been exempt from VAT. and there is no clause to say that this is not also the case for independent education. Reeves’ mantra that the government wants to ‘end tax breaks for private schools’ is baseless nonsense as private schools have historically paid £millions in VAT. When state schools and even independent academies buy goods, they have been able to claim back VAT whereas, until now, independent schools have had to pay VAT on exactly the same goods.
“Schools like mine have very narrow profit margins, our teachers earn less and our buildings are by no means state of the art. The notion that all private schools are money making machines with fat profit margins is absolutely not the case for the vast majority of smaller independent schools.
“Contrary to what people may have been led to believe, state schools and independent schools are not at war with each other and in many cases enjoy reciprocal and very positive working relationships. Christian schools like mine or SEND schools simply have a different offering for those parents who choose us.
“Many children who can access learning in a smaller environment are unable to access education in a larger setting because of neurodiversity, anxiety or SEND needs and state schools which are already stretched, do not necessarily have the capacity to be able to accommodate such children. Parents are actually taking huge pressure off the government by bearing the costs of educating their children in independent schools and levying 20% VAT in the middle of the year feels unnecessarily cruel and smacks of the politics of envy.”
Consequences devastating
Ben Snowdon, Headteacher at Emmanuel School in Derby, an award-winning Independent Christian School which has been providing small group Christian education for over 30 years, said: “The consequences of this policy will be devastating for independent Christian schools and many other low-cost independent schools across the country. It is especially concerning to parents who are not from affluent backgrounds and who have children with special education needs.
“At Emmanuel School we share the government’s desire to ensure that all children have access to high quality education, but we’re deeply concerned that the government’s VAT proposals will hinder this aim.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “The government is enforcing an ideology of education without understanding what is happening on the ground.
“The government’s policy will have the effect of removing parental choice and authority from how their children are educated. The devasting impact of this is told through the stories of those bringing this case.
“The government’s policy will devastate the work of brilliant Christian schools that have been pioneered and maintained by dedicated staff working on sacrificial salaries because they believe in Christian education.
“Contrary to the hype, this policy doesn’t level the education field by taxing the wealthy. Instead, it punishes and may force the closure of amazing schools launched on a shoestring and a leap of faith by individuals passionate about children receiving a Christian education.
“Parents, such as Stephen White, do not want to be forced to send their children to secular state schools where their children will be actively encouraged to embrace beliefs and worldviews completely at odds with the Christian faith.
“Stephen has sacrificed so much to prioritise giving his children the opportunity of a Christian education, but now that opportunity is being taken away by the pressure of this policy.
“This is about education freedom for all and we hope and pray for the high court to recognise that next week.”
