Class war on schools?
In a move that has been described as “class war”, the Charity Commission has rejected two out of five test-case independent schools in the light of legislation by the Labour government.
Schools in England are protesting about “too narrow” rules for charitable status. The Independent Schools Council claims the rulings rely too much on the number of bursaries, with fees likely to rise to fund subsidised places.
For those schools losing out, the loss of charitable status threatens tax benefits which go back to Tudor times.
In response, the Charity Commission says charities must “demonstrate how they bring real benefit to the public”.
The BBC reports, “The refusal of this status for two of the first test-case schools — St Anselm’s in Derbyshire and Highfield Priory, near Preston, Lancashire — has angered the independent school sector. The Independent Schools Council says that the Charity Commission’s decision has been based too much on the level of bursaries available — without taking into account contributions such as sharing facilities with other local schools.”
David Lyscom, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council said, “We are deeply disappointed with the approach taken by the Charity Commission, which focuses on the amount of means tested bursaries provided by each school. The implication of the commission’s findings appears to be that many schools must now aim to provide a significant, but still unspecified, proportion of their turnover in full bursaries. This will inevitably lead to fee increases.”
He also challenged the Charity Commission to recognise the collective benefit of the independent school sector, which he says saves the taxpayer £3bn every year.
There is now the possibility of legal challenge over the rulings.
