West Worcestershire MP Dame Harriett Baldwin has offered her support to families attending schools who will be forced to apply tax on school fees from January 1.

The MP opposed the tax changes which mean that the Government has become the first in the western world to tax education and risks putting extra pressure on the wider education system.

Dame Harriett met with the three major private schools in her constituency earlier in the year to understand how the changes will impact on their organisations and she offered her support as each looks at how to handle the additional tax imposition.

Dame Harriett said:

“I have been contacted by many parents who have to make extra sacrifices to enable their children to attend independent schools and I know that many are having to have difficult conversations about the future.

“Having met with the schools I am briefed that some parents have already started the process of applying for places in the state sector and this is an issue that I am planning to keep a close eye on.

“These independent schools across Worcestershire play a huge role in our local economy employing thousands of people, earning export revenues and helping to give children and parents different educational options. I am saddened that the Government has pursued this miserly policy which risks putting extra pressure on the wider state system, costing taxpayers rather than raising revenue.”