Labour to demand Commons vote on ending school tax breaks

Keir Starmer’s party wants government to investigate reform of tax benefits

Eton College (Getty Images)

Labour will try to force a binding vote in the Commons on ending private school tax breaks and using the cash to recruit thousands of extra teachers.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party plans to use an opposition day motion on Wednesday to attempt to establish a new committee from government to investigate reforming the tax benefits enjoyed by private schools.

Labour wants to strip the charitable status from private schools, which it says would raise £1.7bn to funnel into the state education system.

When the party announced the policy at its autumn conference in Liverpool, aides said that charitable status allows private schools to claim 80 per cent relief on business rates.

The cash saved by scrapping private school tax breaks would be used to recruit an additional 6,500 teachers and stem the tide of those leaving the profession, the party said.

Having crunched Department for Education data, Labour said it found that the number of teachers quitting the profession was outstripping the number of new starters.

The party said Government data showed there were 36,262 leavers in the teaching profession in 2020/21, compared with 34,394 embarking on Initial Teacher Training – a shortfall of 1,868.

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said Labour “believes that excellence is for everyone”, adding: “That is why we would end tax breaks for private schools and invest that money in 6,500 additional teachers.”

“Labour recognises that after 13 years of Conservative economic mismanagement, which culminated in the Conservatives crashing the economy last year, tough choices must be made to protect public finances – but the choice facing MPs today is easy,” she said.

Ms Phillipson added: “Conservative MPs can either vote to deliver a brilliant state education for every child or they vote against the interests of parents across this country who aspire for better for their children, especially those in the very regions their party pledged to ‘level up’.”

The draft motion due to be debated will call for a new Commons select committee on the Fair Taxation of Schools and Education Standards to be set up.

The committee would be tasked with producing a report by July on reforming the tax status of private schools, with the aim of providing fresh funding for teacher recruitment and training.

Labour also wants the money to fund a careers adviser in every secondary school and college, as well as paying for the introduction of two weeks’ worth of compulsory work experience.