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

Parliament voted on Amendment 7 to the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill on 15 January 2025, during the Report Stage of the Bill's passage through the House of Commons. The amendment, tabled by the opposition, would have introduced transitional relief for private schools, phasing in the business rates and VAT changes over time rather than applying them immediately. The amendment was defeated by 341 votes to 172. The vote concerns the government's plan to remove the business rates relief that independent schools have historically enjoyed, alongside the broader policy of applying VAT to private school fees. Taken together, these changes represent a significant increase in the tax burden on independent schools. Had the amendment passed, schools would have had more time to adjust financially, potentially limiting fee increases or other changes. By defeating the amendment, the government cleared the path for the full impact of both measures to take effect without a phased introduction. The policy is expected to affect hundreds of thousands of pupils currently in the independent school sector, as well as the schools themselves, their staff, and the state sector, which the government argues will benefit from the additional tax revenue. The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted unanimously against the amendment, providing the government with a comfortable majority. Conservatives and Liberal Democrats voted together in favour of transitional relief, forming the bulk of the 172 Ayes, alongside most Reform UK MPs and a majority of Independent MPs. The Greens and the SDLP joined the government in opposing the amendment. The Bill continued to face resistance at subsequent stages, including in the House of Lords, where a series of amendments were passed in early 2025 before the government moved to disagree with them in further Commons votes in March 2025.