Independent schools add £16.5bn to the economy and £5.1bn in tax contributions, analysis shows
A report by Oxford Economics, commissioned by the ISC and due to be published this week, has revealed that independent schools contribute an annual £16.5 billion to the economy and provide as many jobs as Asda, Sainsbury’s and Co-op combined.
The report also estimates that the sector contributes £5.1 billion in tax revenue per year. Barnaby Lenon, chairman of the ISC, has warned that Labour's plan to add tax to school fees could damage schools' bursary programmes, although that is a ‘worst-case scenario’ they will seek to avoid.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Lenon expressed his concerns over the impact of Labour's independent school tax plans on financial support for poorer families, saying: “In the past 20 years independent schools have not only dramatically pushed up the amount of money spent on means-tested bursaries, they have increasingly focused it on the poorest pupils. All this progress is now threatened.”
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