Shadow schools minister says private schools would have freedom to decide how to meet public benefit test
New laws forcing private schools to justify their charitable status – and nearly £100m a year in tax breaks – have become too bureaucratic and presc
Nick Gibb said a Conservative government would keep the charity law but challenge the way it is interpreted by the independent watchdog the Charity Commission. Schools would be given more freedom to decide how they meet the test.
Gibb's comments follow complaints from private schools that the Charity Commission has become too focused on schools providing bursaries instead of on sharing facilities with other schools.
The charity laws were revised in 2006 to make all charities pass a public benefit test. When asked to define that test the Charity Commission ruled that private schools would have to prove that their fees were not a barrier to people accessing the education they provided. Guidance since then has stressed that they should be providing bursaries – resulting in fee-charging schools all but abandonning academic scholarships in favour of means-tested bursaries.
Gibb said the law was necessary but under the Charity Commission it had become too presc
"And if a Conservative government is elected it will be far easier for them to open up state-sector counterparts that will particularly help children in the most deprived areas.
"We want independent schools to continue the excellent contributions they're currently making but we must make sure the public benefit test does not become too bureaucratic."
He said he would challenge the Charity Commission's interpretation of the rules should the Conservatives win the next election and he is made schools minister.
His comments come after private schools suggested they could consider taking legal action against the commission's interpretation of the law and one leading QC Leolin Price suggested its guidance amounted to an "attack" on independent schools.
David Lyscom chief executive of the Independent Schools Council said: "While Nick Gibb's comments are welcome this is not a political issue but a legal issue in terms of ensuring the law is interpreted correctly and we don't believe the Charity Commission is doing that."
The Charity Commission insisted it already gave schools a range of opt7d0ions to pass the test. A spokesperson said: "Mr Gibb is right that charities should be able to decide for themselves how they provide public benefit and this is exactly the commission's approach in enabling trustees to decide how they do this. There are numerous ways charities including independent charitable schools can meet the public benefit requirement."