Shaping policies that impact neurodivergent people

The Trust contributes to public consultations (run by the Scottish Government or a Committee of The Scottish Parliament) on issues salient to our practice, the people for whom we advocate, and neurodivergence more broadly. We produce ad hoc briefings on important subjects as appropriate, too, outlining our positions on key issues.

We are pleased to respond to the the U.K. Government’s ‘Technical Note’ in relation to the proposed changes to the ‘VAT-exempt’ status of school fees collected by an independent school.

The proposed VAT policy does not adequately account for regional differences in regulation and the diverse nature of provision across the UK. It risks placing a financial burden on ‘self-funding’ families seeking specialist provision for young people with significant levels of needs, and may undermine the financial stability of charities already filling gaps in the same state sector this policy is meant to benefit.

We are concerned that policy intended to generate Exchequer revenues from specific institutions and groups across the U.K. better placed to accommodate any additional cost will have very significant and unintended consequence for those who simply cannot. It is vital that families seeking to access the specialist provision their children benefit from are able to do so.

You can read our full response below.