Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill Report Stage: Amendment 7

Parliament voted on 15 January 2025 on Amendment 7 to the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill at Report Stage. The amendment sought to extend the exemption from the removal of charitable business rates relief to private schools that serve pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who do not hold a formal Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, broadening the government's existing carve-out beyond schools serving only those with the most severe needs. The amendment was defeated by 341 votes to 172. The bill removes the entitlement to charitable rate relief (worth 80 per cent on occupied properties) from private schools in England that hold charitable status, effective from April 2025. The government retained a narrow exemption for schools wholly or mainly serving pupils with EHC plans. Amendment 7 would have extended that protection to schools serving pupils with lower-level SEND needs, including children who are awaiting a plan or whose needs do not meet the threshold for one. Supporters argued this would protect families who, unable to secure an EHC plan quickly or at all, had placed children in private schools to meet their needs. Opponents backed the government's position that relief should be confined to settings for the most severely affected pupils. The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 300 Labour MPs and 34 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted did so against the amendment, with no Labour members voting in favour. All 98 voting Conservatives and all 63 voting Liberal Democrats supported the amendment, making this a rare instance of cross-party alignment between the two main opposition parties. Five Reform UK MPs and one Democratic Unionist Party MP also voted aye. Three Greens and three independents voted no. The government's firm majority was decisive.