Committee
Education, Children and Young People Committee 18 February 2026 [Draft]
18 Feb 2026 · S6 · Education, Children and Young People Committee
Item of business
VAT and Independent Schools
Catherine Dyer (Scottish Council of Independent Schools)
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I am a recently appointed chair, but I have discovered, from coming into the sector and learning about it, that it is very different from what I anticipated, especially with regard to the schools that serve special educational needs. As a member of the public, I really was not aware of that. In addition, there is assistance to people who require it for certain things in the same proportion as in some state schools. It is a very different sector—I think that we have the idea that it is schools like Eton and so on, but Scotland is not like that.When I looked at what came from the Treasury, I was interested to see that the figure of 3,000 pupils moving from the sector was for the first year across the United Kingdom. In Scotland, we have almost reached that number already; that is the impact in Scotland. I do not know what the impact is in England and Wales, because we do not have that information in the letter. However, it was not expected that 3,000 pupils would leave in one big lump, but here we are in that position.When we look at where the schools are placed, the situation is very different here. Lots of schools are vital to the economy. They are viable charities, but the question is, how far we can go with this? There is dismay at the pressure on the amount of investment that the schools can put in to plans for engagement with the wider community and the good work that is done jointly with schools in the neighbourhoods. As Lorraine said, the vast majority of independent schools are charities and not for profit, and all the money goes back into education in Scotland.
In the same item of business
The Convener
Con
Welcome back. Our next item of business is an evidence session on VAT and independent schools. I welcome our witnesses from the Scottish Council of Independe...
Lorraine Davidson (Scottish Council of Independent Schools)
Thank you, convener, and members of the committee, for your kind invitation to give evidence today. We appreciate the opportunity to assist the committee’s c...
The Convener
Con
Thank you for that opening statement. The committee will want to cover a number of questions, but I will start with how we got here. This policy was a manife...
Lorraine Davidson
We had discussions on behalf of our schools with Ian Murray when he was in Opposition. He attended our annual conference, as did Pam Duncan-Glancy. We met Do...
The Convener
Con
You referenced the letter that we have had from the Exchequer Secretary. Do you think that the UK Government is refusing to accept the differences that there...
Lorraine Davidson
I think that it is just a case of a policy having been designed through the prism of Westminster and the lens of English education, and English education is ...
The Convener
Con
Can you tell us what that price is? What is happening to numbers in the schools that are in a perilous state? What about schools that have been unable to sur...
Lorraine Davidson
Our schools are mainly charities. They have been viable charities, but, sadly, we have seen both Kilgraston and Cedars close, and different arrangements have...
The Convener
Con
With regard to the schools that have, sadly, closed, could an argument be made that they were in a difficult position and the increase tipped them over the e...
Lorraine Davidson
We were really open in the run-up to the policy being designed about the fact that our schools in Scotland are charities and any surplus that they make is re...
The Convener
Con
I represent the Highlands and Islands, including the Moray constituency, which is home to Gordonstoun school. Gordonstoun is one of our biggest employers in ...
Lorraine Davidson
We have seen other markets try to take advantage of it. For example, Ireland does not have VAT on school fees, so it is making a big push to say, “Come to ou...
The Convener
Con
Sadly, we do not have a baker in Duffus, but we have a very good post office. There is a very good butcher in Hopeman whom my parents go to, so I will not go...
Catherine Dyer (Scottish Council of Independent Schools)
I am a recently appointed chair, but I have discovered, from coming into the sector and learning about it, that it is very different from what I anticipated,...
The Convener
Con
Before I go to other members, Mr O’Neill, will you tell us about the work that the education and partnership committee has done and is planning to do on that...
John O’Neill (Scottish Council of Independent Schools)
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. Partnerships are a critical feature of life for independent schools. Like all schools in Scotland, there is sig...
John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (Ind)
Ind
I should start by saying that I was at Hutchesons’. I did not enjoy my school experience. I do not know whether I would have enjoyed any other school, but th...
Lorraine Davidson
The Institute for Fiscal Studies tried to do some work on that area and said some of those things. I have spoken to economists and tried to interrogate that ...
John Mason
Ind
I accept that, if they all go on foreign holidays, it will not boost our economy very much at all.On the point about teachers losing their jobs, we are short...
John O’Neill
Correct. I think that you will find that there are a significant number of temporary contracts within the state sector but not permanent, full-time, guarante...
John Mason
Ind
As the convener said, the Treasury and the UK Government have not been particularly helpful in engaging with us. However, the letter from the Treasury talks ...
Lorraine Davidson
The £1.8 billion gain is in the very long term and we have seen a recalculation of the figures. In Scotland, certainly, the policy is not going to raise as m...
John Mason
Ind
One of the points that you make is that children might be doing GCSEs and then they have to move into the state sector. That raises the question, why are the...
Lorraine Davidson
We have a significant number of international families in Scotland. If such a family is going to be in Scotland for three or four years and wants their child...
John Mason
Ind
Can you give us an idea of proportions? How many children from independent schools go to Scottish universities and how many go elsewhere?
Lorraine Davidson
I do not have that exact statistic at the moment, but I am in the process of pulling together the stats on the number of children we attract internationally ...
John Mason
Ind
I take it that there are two categories. There will be some parents who have so much money that it does not matter what happens to fees because the child wil...
Lorraine Davidson
In Scotland, we have more families who are in the category of just managing to pay the fees. There was a meeting with the parent body at Cedars when the scho...
Miles Briggs
Con
Thank you for joining us today. I am a member for Edinburgh and Lothian and will ask specifically about Edinburgh, because 15 per cent of families in the cap...
Lorraine Davidson
SCIS is a charity, and we take our charity obligations seriously. When we commissioned the BiGGAR Economics report two years ago, it was the first time that ...