Rachael Maskell MP

Labour MP Rachael Maskell has told The Daily Telegraph that she believes independent schools charging less than £6,500 per annum should be exempt from the planned 20% VAT charge on school fees.

Maskell, the MP for York Central, is the first member of the Labour Party in Parliament to question the party’s plans to impose the tax.

Maskell is preparing a report examining whether the policy is “causing more divides, rather than less”, and has called for a “zero rating for VAT” for independent schools charging the lowest fees, which are often located in the most deprived parts of the country.

In particular Maskell voiced her concerns for an independent school in her own constituency, saying: “It’s a school charging some of the lowest fees in the country. Parents are really going to struggle if VAT is applied to [schools like] these.”