During a debate on 5th September on the impact of the Government's plans to impose VAT on independent schools, Guy attacked "this cruel policy which shamefully puts the interests of crude ideology before those of children, many with special needs." He called on the Government "to delay its implementation until September 2025, undertake a proper consultation, talk to the sector and come back with plans that are properly thought through, costed and practical. It is time to put children before party."
Guy - who is President of the Boarding Schools’ Association and the Institute of Boarding, as well as Chairman of Governors at Brentwood School - outlined why this is such an "intensely personal issue for me .. My beloved parents sent my brother and me to Brentwood School, an independent school. They were not at all wealthy—my father owned a shoe shop and my mother looked after the family. It was a real struggle for them, but they never regretted it. To their sacrifice, and an exceptional education at Brentwood, I owe everything. My parents were just the sort of people, battling to make ends meet to pay the fees, who would have been hit hardest by this spiteful policy."
The policy, he added, "will end up costing taxpayers money. This truly is voodoo economics. Those affected will be young people at their most vulnerable. They are not statistics, but children with whose lives this Government is heartlessly toying."
He highlighted in particular the plight of boarding schools, such as Brentwood. "Boarding schools, both state and independent, are a vital part of the education sector, contributing £3 billion a year to the economy and providing 64,000 jobs. They educate 70,000 children a year, with 25,000 coming from overseas, making them part of the incredible international success story of independent education. They play a particularly important role in training young people in music, singing and ballet. As such, they are a crucial part of the UK’s creative economy, especially at a time when music education is collapsing in state schools. They also provide indispensable continuity of education for military families, on whom we depend for our freedoms. "
He concluded by saying: "A prime duty of government in education policy should be to encourage excellence access—hallmarks of schools such as Brentwood. This policy does the opposite: it is a tax on opportunity and achievement. If I dare use this phrase, it is the first time in five decades that a Government has had levelling down as an aim of education policy, rather than levelling up."
The full text of the debate, introduced by Lord Lexden, is here.
ENDS.
