Is a hike in private school fees a threat to human rights? Lawyers think so

The best lawyers are preparing to assert that the decision of the work to receive VAT on private school fees is a threat to human rights.

The eminent lawyer Lord Pannick KC Boris Johnsons Party Barrister will face Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the official defendant in the case, in a highly anticipated battle of the High Court.

The legal dispute is to argue that the VAT raid on tuition fees disproportionately affects low -income families who send their children to private schools because there are no appropriate state options.

This includes children with special educational needs and handicaps (Send) who are taken in huge arrears for support funded by the Council or children from religious circles who wish to attend local religious schools.

Reeves, as well as HMRC and the Ministry of Education (DFE), should defend policy on the grounds that the increase in taxes for public services is a legitimate objective.

The chancellor was accused of hypocrisy after hiring four dear room lawyers who all went to private schools themselves to defend the governments' affair.

The challenge of the High Court, invoked by more than 1,000 private schools as well as a group representing parents, will take place from April 1 to 3.

Why is VAT a threat to human rights?

Lawyers should argue that the introduction of VAT on education is a violation of the right to education guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and that the way the government has implemented the policy is disproportionate.

The initial complaint, filed by the Council of Independent Schools (ISC) on behalf of seven families, was deposited just before Christmas. Two subsequent complaints brought by a group led by parents called Discrimination and Christian religious schools will be heard at the same time.

Sophie KEMP, head of public law of Kingsley and Napley SOLICITORS, representing the ISC, said that the imposition of an additional tax on education creates an obstacle to access which endangers the right to education.

I went to the state school. I never thought that I plead for children in private education, so it is not as if I am a stranger in this area, but I think there is a fairly important principle on the taxation of education, she said The paper I.

Who is Lord Pannick, Boris Johnsons Partygate lawyer?

David Phillip Pannick, a lawyer who is very considered to be specialized in public law and human rights, will lead the case on behalf of private schools.

Lawyer who is also a cross -habit in the Lord House is known to charge 8,000 per hour, depending on reports.

Lord Pannick KC acquired public recognition in 2019 when he successfully represented Gina Miller in the contestation of the Supreme Court against Prime Minister Boris Johnsons illegal prororogation of the Parliament, leading to an immediate parliamentary reminder.

He has since advised Boris Johnson in the Committee of Privileges of the House of Commons to find out if the former Prime Minister misled the Parliament concerning the gatherings at 10 n ° 10 Downing Street during the COVVI-19 locking.

He recently won a legal victory for Manchester City during the Premier League during a long battle against alleged violations of the financial regulation.

Lore Pannick KC took 100 cases before the Lord Chamber Appeal Committee before replacing the Supreme Court in 2009, where he pleaded more than 25 cases.

He also took charge of more than 25 cases before the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and more than 30 cases at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

KEMP said that policy threatens access to education for minority groups whose education cannot be satisfied in the state sector, such as children with complex educational needs and disabilities (Send) who find it difficult to find appropriate school investments.

Sending children with education, health and care plans funded by the Council (EHCP) are exempt from VAT policy, but obtaining this legal document is a long and arduous process. Consequently, thousands of parents opt for private schooling either to avoid the test, or while they are stuck in the backlog.

According to the latest census of private schools, more than 100,000 students receive support in private schools without EHCP.

Kemp said that VAT policy disproportionately affects families of poor horizons that make huge sacrifices to send their children to private schools because the state sector does not provide an adequate alternative.

Other applicants wish to access education in accordance with philosophical or religious convictions, have chosen a single education for a particular reason or need access to a specific program to ensure the continuity of education as foreign nationals.

The legal team will ask the court to find a declaration of incompatibility with human rights law on the basis that the work policy is incompatible with article 2 of the first protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights (CECH), which is the right to education.

He will also ask the court to note that policy is incompatible when it is read alongside article 14, which is protection against discrimination.

What will the government say?

The government should support in response that it a legitimate objective of imposing education in order to collect funds for the state sector.

The case should depend on whether the objective governments legitimate to impose the tax are proportionate to the impact it has on low -income families, Kemp said.

Policy should earn more money to the treasury each year according to forecasts from the Budget Chain Responsibility (OBR), from only 460m in 2024-25 and increased to 1.7 billion in 2029-30. It should be more than 1.5 billion in 2025-26 and 2026-27, increasing to 1.6 billion in 2027-28 and 2028-29.

OPRS forecasts indicate that the cost of education of 35,000 students from the additional public sector will cost 300 m, based on a cost of 7,690 per student in England.

The government has said that this money will go to the priorities of the state sector, such as the recruitment of 6,500 new teachers in key matters in public schools, the reform of opportunity and the creation of more than 3,000 new nurseries.

The money for the taxation of private school fees will support 94% of children in public schools to achieve and prosper, said the Treasury.

However, Paper i said that Rachel's national insurance increases could cancel all the gains in the work plan to hire 6,500 teachers, because school leaders do not have the budget to recruit and may even lose personnel due to financing deficits.

From April 6, the national insurance contribution of employers will drop from 13.8% to 15, the unions warning that they face a deficit of 10 to 35% to cover the increase.

A government spokesperson said: We are not starting to dispute in progress.

The end of tax lounges for private schools will increase 1.8 billion per year by 2029/30 to help deliver 6,500 new teachers and increase school standards, supporting 94% of public school children to reach and prosper.

Less than 0.1% of students are expected to move schools this year due to the end of tax loss for private schools, against more than a million spare places in schools across the country.

When will we know the result?

The complaint continues before the administrative court, a specialized division of the High Court which deals with complaints from a judicial journal.

It is understood that three judges will be on the bench to hear this case, potentially including a main judge of the Court of Appeal.

Kemp said the judgment could be rendered immediately on Thursday, but it is more likely that the judges are taking a few weeks to make a decision.

She said that a judgment is likely to come to Easter, but that the two parties will have the opportunity to call it.

This could flow until the start of the summer vacation, but I think everyone will try to determine it as quickly as possible, added Kemp.

Will VAT be reversed?

Lawyers have said that the judicial challenge, if successful, could encourage the government to examine its VAT program.

Robert Lewis, partner at Mishcon de Reya LLP and responsible for education at the law firm, said that work could be more uncomfortable than the previous government to present a law with an incompatibility declaration, especially since Prime Minister Keir Starmer was a human rights lawyer.

This would put the government in an uncomfortable position to have key legislation declared as incompatible with the European Convention, he said.

However, a declaration of incompatibility would not be restrictive for the government.

The former controversial Rwanda legislation of conservative governments has proven fundamentally incompatible with UKS human rights obligations. This did not cancel the legislation in itself, but led the government to reconsider parts of it.

There are many cases where a declaration of incompatibility with the Convention has led to the government's revisioning policies, said Lewis, giving the example of the Rwanda expulsion case.