Ross accuses UK ministers of ‘contempt’ over failure to appear at Holyrood

UK Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander have both been accused of treating Holyrood with “contempt” after they refused to come before MSPs.

Holyrood Education Committee convener Douglas Ross said MSPs had been left “deeply frustrated” when Mr Alexander refused to appear before them, claiming the committee had been “bounced between two departments” as it sought answers about the impact of the UK Government’s policy of charging VAT on private school fees.

Mr Ross hit out after the Scottish Secretary wrote to the committee saying that the Scotland Office “does not have a role in this” and, as a result, he would “have to decline your invitation on this occasion”.

Meanwhile, Ms Phillipson told the committee the Education Secretary was responsible for monitoring the impact of VAT changes on the private school sector and state-funded school sector in England.

The letter went on to state that “the Scottish Government will have similar responsibilities in Scotland so will be better placed to advise on the impact”.

MSPs had been hoping to take evidence on the impact the introduction of VAT on school fees had had since the policy was introduced at the start of this.

But UK ministers are said to have turned down “multiple invitations” to give evidence.

It comes as independent schools in Scotland said the number of pupils they have enrolled has dropped by more than 1,000 since the introduction of VAT on fees.

The Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS) said a survey of members had found there are 25,919 pupils in the current school year, compared with 27,781 at the same point in the previous year.

Independent school rolls have fallen by about 10% since the 2022-23 year, the organisation added.

After the Scottish Secretary wrote this week to say he would not be appearing, Mr Ross said the committee was “deeply frustrated by Douglas Alexander’s decision to decline our invitation to give evidence about the impact of applying VAT to private school fees”.

The committee convener added: “When we did not receive a response from the UK Education Secretary, it was hoped the Scottish Secretary would give evidence, but both treated the Parliament with contempt when they refused to appear in front of us.”

He added that the committee’s invitation had “been bounced between different departments who seem incapable of actually talking to each other”, with Mr Ross claiming: “The result is the same.

“We would have expected the UK Government to be keen to explain the benefits of this policy, but they have chosen not to.”

He continued: “The responses we have had, and the absurd amount of time this has taken, demonstrate that the UK Government refuses to be held to account by our committee for the impact of its policies on Scotland’s pupils and parents.”

In his letter, sent to MSPs on Tuesday, Mr Alexander had explained that it is HM Treasury that is “responsible for UK-wide VAT policy, including the removal of the VAT exemption on private school fees”.

The Scottish Secretary said: “They have directly engaged with the Scottish Government on this matter, and are best placed to provide any advice or evidence on the UK-wide impacts of the policy.”

He continued: “Increases in education funding in England following the VAT changes are reflected in the block grant settlements for the devolved governments through the Barnett formula, and in line with the devolution settlement it will be up to the Scottish Government to decide how to spend this additional funding in Scotland.”

The Scotland Office and the Department for Education have been contacted for comment.