And some people and their media pals aren't happy!
Imagine being able to afford Private School! Beyond the reach of many.
TELEGRAPH VIEW15 September 2024 • 6:00am
The Continuity of Education Allowance doesn’t cover the full cost of fees for military families CREDIT: Peter Dench/Getty
Only now are the full consequences of Labour’s imposition of VAT on school fees becoming clear. The impact is being felt especially acutely by the Armed Forces. Service families depend heavily on boarding schools, for various well-known practical reasons.
However, the Government’s tax raid on private education ignores the military ramifications of the politics of envy.
As is already clear from the failure to carry out an impact assessment for the removal of the winter fuel allowance from pensioners, this Government seems heedless of the damage done by policies driven by ideology. Evidently none of those responsible for its vindictive tax on education made provision for children with special educational needs, let alone for military families. It is difficult not to conclude that they just didn’t care enough.
The Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to which parents in the Services are entitled does not cover the full cost of boarding school fees. Such parents are already expected to find up to £17,000 a year per child from their own resources.
A 20 per cent increase in fees may be unaffordable for military families living on comparatively modest salaries. While independent schools are doing their best to absorb the VAT hike, it is inevitable that some officers will be forced to leave the Armed Forces.
This is a hammer blow to morale at a time when the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force are facing serious challenges in recruitment and retention. Ensuring stability for families, especially with children of school age, is one of the few ways in which the strains of life in uniform can be mitigated.
A side-effect of penalising those who educate their children privately will be to undermine the ability of our Armed Forces to attract and keep the best possible leadership material. In a dangerous world, this is sheer folly.
Under the Scrooge-like grip of Rachel Reeves, the Treasury is unlikely to countenance an exemption from the new VAT rate for military families. The least the Ministry of Defence should do is to raise the long-frozen CEA. The brave men and women who serve our country deserve no less.
Imagine being able to afford Private School! Beyond the reach of many.
Private school VAT is a betrayal of military families
This is a hammer blow to morale at a time when the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force are facing serious challengesTELEGRAPH VIEW15 September 2024 • 6:00am
The Continuity of Education Allowance doesn’t cover the full cost of fees for military families CREDIT: Peter Dench/Getty
Only now are the full consequences of Labour’s imposition of VAT on school fees becoming clear. The impact is being felt especially acutely by the Armed Forces. Service families depend heavily on boarding schools, for various well-known practical reasons.
However, the Government’s tax raid on private education ignores the military ramifications of the politics of envy.
As is already clear from the failure to carry out an impact assessment for the removal of the winter fuel allowance from pensioners, this Government seems heedless of the damage done by policies driven by ideology. Evidently none of those responsible for its vindictive tax on education made provision for children with special educational needs, let alone for military families. It is difficult not to conclude that they just didn’t care enough.
The Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to which parents in the Services are entitled does not cover the full cost of boarding school fees. Such parents are already expected to find up to £17,000 a year per child from their own resources.
A 20 per cent increase in fees may be unaffordable for military families living on comparatively modest salaries. While independent schools are doing their best to absorb the VAT hike, it is inevitable that some officers will be forced to leave the Armed Forces.
This is a hammer blow to morale at a time when the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force are facing serious challenges in recruitment and retention. Ensuring stability for families, especially with children of school age, is one of the few ways in which the strains of life in uniform can be mitigated.
A side-effect of penalising those who educate their children privately will be to undermine the ability of our Armed Forces to attract and keep the best possible leadership material. In a dangerous world, this is sheer folly.
Under the Scrooge-like grip of Rachel Reeves, the Treasury is unlikely to countenance an exemption from the new VAT rate for military families. The least the Ministry of Defence should do is to raise the long-frozen CEA. The brave men and women who serve our country deserve no less.
