Ill children who attend independent schools and who are patients at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh are being refused a free education while in hospital, while state-educated children are provided with the service, The Mail on Sunday has reported.

Parents are being charged £115 an hour for one-to-one tutoring that state-school children receive for free at the hospital managed by NHS Lothian.

Following a complaint by one parent, the council’s head of education (inclusion), Dr Lynne Binnie told the parent that “unfortunately, as you have chosen to privately educate your son, he cannot be supported by this team – you have effectively opted out of state-funded education and supports”.

Edinburgh’s council is controlled by the Labour Party in a city where one in four children is privately educated.

Edinburgh city councillor James Dalgleish stated that the hospital was “following Scottish government guidance”.

A Scottish government spokesman commented: “Decisions around fees for hospital education services are a matter for local authorities and NHS boards to consider with independent schools as appropriate.”