A coalition of Christian schools, parents and pupils has been granted permission to appeal a UK government policy that applies VAT to non-public school fees.
The government introduced the VAT measure as a part of broader tax reforms, arguing that it might raise revenue to fund state education.
The policy is being challenged by several independent Christian schools, including Emmanuel School in Derby, The Branch Christian School in Yorkshire, The King’s School in Hampshire and Wyclif Independent Christian School in South Wales.
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), they argue that the policy unlawfully discriminates against families looking for faith-based education, particularly in low-income areas where such schools often operate.
They say that the addition of VAT has already forced some independent schools to shut and has pushed others to the brink.
The coalition’s legal challenge was dismissed by the High Court in June when it ruled that taxation matters fell inside Parliament’s discretion, despite recognising the impact on lower income families.
However, Lord Justice Lewis within the Court of Appeal has now ruled that the case raises compelling problems with public interest and ought to be heard.
Joining the legal challenge is Stephen White, a father and bookseller from Bradford who selected to live in one of the deprived areas of town in order that he could afford to send his 4 children to the Bradford Christian School.
He said he was “very encouraged” by the news that the appeal can go ahead, calling the policy “unjust and discriminatory”.
“It denies us the appropriate to lift our youngsters in step with our beliefs and forces us to choose from home-schooling or compromising our faith,” he said.
“Labour has created a caricature of rich private schools, but that’s not our reality.”
Opponents say the extra VAT disproportionately affects smaller and lower-cost independent schools, including those serving children with special educational needs [SEND].
Caroline Santer, headteacher at The King’s School in Hampshire, said: “This policy has already caused children to go away their schools and schools to shut. It disproportionately affects military families, SEND children, and people with specific religious beliefs. We will proceed to challenge this unjust laws.”
Jill Holt, headteacher at The Branch Christian School, said the extra fees were out of reach for a lot of Christian parents: “Most of our parents work full-time and can’t home-school. They select our college since it reflects their values.
“VAT would add nearly £800 to fees, a burden many families simply cannot bear. The government’s argument doesn’t add up. It would cost more to coach these children in state schools.”
The Christian Legal Centre (CLC), which is supporting the Christians of their appeal, argue that current policy may breach the European Convention on Human Rights, including the appropriate to education and protection against discrimination.
CLC chief executive, Andrea Williams, said the policy was about rather more than taxation and impacted on the liberty of fogeys to coach children “in accordance with faith and conscience”.
“Education has long been thought to be a public good, historically supported through charitable reliefs and never subject to direct taxation. This move marks a major and troubling departure from that tradition,” she said.
“The policy up to now has been an utter disaster, in all likelihood not raising a penny more for education, but shutting down charitable, long standing private Christian schools for what? Ideology. This policy must be not only rethought, but completely scrapped before any more wonderful schools are closed.
“This government policy is an element of a broader trend which is seeing the federal government looking for increasing control over what children learn. From radical RSE [Relationships and Sex Education] in primary schools to burdens on private faith schools and residential educators, the message is obvious: diversity of thought and belief in education is under threat.”
The appeal hearing is anticipated to happen in the approaching months.
 A coalition of Christian schools, parents and pupils has been granted permission to...){kind=link}