Finance Bill Committee: New Clause 6

What happened: Parliament voted on New Clause 6 to the Finance Bill on 11 December 2024, during the Committee stage of the legislation. The clause, tabled by the opposition, sought to modify the government's proposals on private school taxation. The amendment was defeated by 314 votes to 105.

Why it matters: The underlying policy in this part of the Finance Bill removes the VAT exemption that private schools have historically enjoyed on their education, vocational training and boarding fees. The government argues this will raise approximately 460 million pounds in additional revenue in 2024-25, funding increases to the state school budget including recruitment of additional teachers. Critics argue the change will push pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, out of independent schools and into a state sector that lacks capacity to absorb them. Concerns were also raised in debate about the impact on small rural schools, faith schools, and the children of armed forces personnel covered by the continuity of education allowance.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 309 Labour and Labour-Co-operative MPs who voted backed the government, while 96 Conservatives voted for the amendment alongside four Reform UK MPs, four independents, and one each from the Democratic Unionist Party and the Ulster Unionist Party. The Greens voted with the government. The opposition framed the amendment as protection for vulnerable pupils and communities; the government framed resistance to it as defending investment in state education. This division sits within a broader sequence of Finance Bill votes running through to March 2025, when the Bill passed its Third Reading by 339 votes to 172.