The Independent Schools Council is to launch legal action against the Government鈥檚 decision to levy VAT on independent school fees, the group announced today.
The ISC, an umbrella body for seven associations representing independent schools, will be working with the human rights barrister Lord Pannick KC, alongside Paul Luckhurst from Blackstone Chambers and the legal firm Kingsley Napley. Legal proceedings will begin shortly, the ISC said in a statement.
The case will centre around breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Human Rights Act 1998. It will be separate from other litigation, though ISC will be liaising with these other third-party groups, it said.
Julie Robinson, CEO of ISC, said: 鈥淭his is a decision that has not been taken lightly and has been under consideration for many months. At all points throughout this debate, our focus has been on the children in our schools who would be negatively impacted by this policy.
“This focus remains and we will be defending the rights of families who have chosen independent education, but who may no longer be able to do so as a direct result of an unprecedented education tax.鈥
More to follow
