Six Surrey MPs have called on the government to exclude all children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from the imposition of VAT on school fees.

The six Conservative MPs, including former Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, urged the government to reconsider the policy overall, and called for an immediate exemption for children with SEND, whether or not they have a Education, Care and Health Plan (ECHP).

Children with an ECHP are already exempt from the policy, but in an open letter to current Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, the MPs said 93% of around 100,000 children attending specialist independent schools due to their high needs do not have an ECHP.

The open letter was signed by Claire Coutinho, Ben Spencer, Rebecca Paul, Greg Stafford and Lincoln Jopp, as well as Hunt. Spencer, Paul and Stafford’s children currently attend independent schools.

In the letter, the MPs claimed the imposition of VAT on school fees would not only force children with SEND to leave their schools but would also place pressure on state schools.