A letter addressed to HM Treasury, responding to the questions in the Technical Note published by the Treasury in July 2024.
The following submission is made on behalf of Cathedral Music Trust in response to the government’s draft VAT legislation proposing the application of VAT to Private School Fees and Removing the Business Rates Charitable Rates Relief for Private Schools.
Question 2 of the technical note asks ‘Does this definition inadvertently capture any organisations that this policy does not intend to capture?’ (p.11). We would petition that insufficient evidence has been taken into account regarding the specialist provision of choir schools and other private institutions that support the UK’s choral foundations.
Section 1.1 of the technical note states that the government is “committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity”. However, in the context of choir schools, this legislation will achieve the opposite; narrowing the possibilities for those with fewest opportunities, and those from the most diverse backgrounds, to participate in one of our country’s finest cultural assets. The imposition of 20% VAT on school fees will decrease accessibility of choir schools, the majority of which are fee paying. It will have the unintended consequence of making choir schools unaffordable for many lower-income families who, even with the bursary and scholarship support that can be offered, would be unable to pay the increase in the fee requirement that VAT imposes. Those bursaries and scholarships are often funded directly by choral foundations, who themselves face significant financial pressures. Most cathedrals would have no choice but to reduce the percentage of fee remission they are able to offer,further limiting access to cathedral choirs. A government initiative bringing about a decrease in the diversity of children and young people learning music is in direct opposition to the National Plan for Music Education.
As well as creating significant new barriers to opportunity, this legislation will imperil the viability of the UK’s choir schools themselves and, consequently the rich traditions which they serve. Opportunities provided by choir schools cannot simply be replicated through state sector provision. Evidence from More Partnerships’ report, The Future for Cathedral Music, demonstrates the unique role played by these schools, supporting the musical excellence that is a unique part of the UK’s cultural fabric. Put simply, there are not the resources or infrastructure in state schools to support the high-level choral training for children in KS2 & KS3 that is integral to the cathedral music tradition.
While Cathedral Music Trust is supportive of exploring and developing new ways of sustaining this exceptional and world-leading educational provision, we believe that the speed of shift being proposed through the Government’s changes to VAT policy will cause irreparable damage. The knock-on impact of this will be a diminution in the UK’s standing in a cultural sphere in which we have been a world leader for centuries.
Section 2.11 of the technical note demonstrates the fundamentally contradictory nature of the legislation when applied to specialist choir schools: “education and vocational training provided by further education colleges, which are classified as public sector institutions, will not be subject to VAT. This is to ensure that the training these institutions provide remains accessible to a wide range ofpeople, thereby supporting the government’s objective to increase labour market activity.”
The labour market for music and other performing arts is dependent on training that is initiated for children at an early age, often whilst in KS2 or KS3. Limiting of the opportunities provided through choir schools by an increase to tax burden – and consequent higher costs for families – will reduce accessibility to a wide range of people for this area of the labour market. Retaining accessibility to this educational offer has never been more critical, sitting in the context of a cultural sector that has seen its financial support from government and local authorities continually eroded since 2010. Indeed, in 2022, the UK ranked 22nd among 25 European OECD nations in both culture spending as a share of GDP and culture spending per person.
Finally, Section 4: (Other potential impacts), fails to take into account any impact on performing arts/professional cultural provision of which choir schools and choral foundations are an integral part. We would petition the Treasury, along with colleagues in DCMS and DFE, to review the impact of this legislation on the cathedral music sector.
Cathedral Music Trust proposes that a VAT exception is made for the school fees of choristers (i.e. those children specifically recruited to participate in music-making with cathedrals and other choral foundations connected to private schools). Such an exemption would help to retain the accessibility of choir schools for those from most deprived backgrounds and, we would argue, cause only minimal reduction to the additional income the government is seeking to gain.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Mayes
CEO, Cathedral Music Trust
