R (on the application of Emmanuel School (Derby) Limited T/A Emmanuel School and others) (Appellants) v Chancellor of the Exchequer and others (Respondents)

Case summary
Permission to Appeal
Previous proceedings

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2026/0045

Parties

Appellant(s)

Emmanuel School (Derby) Ltd, Dewsbury Gospel Church, Hampshire Christian Education Trust, Fair Oak, Wyclif Independent Christian Educational Assoc, Yvonne Owusu-Ansah, S White, J White, AHD, ANF, AWM, ASK

Respondent(s)

BYL

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Commissioners of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Secretary of State for Education

Issue

In 2025 the government introduced VAT on private school fees. The appellants are religious private schools, their pupils, and their pupils’ parents. Was the introduction of VAT on private school fees compatible with the appellants’ right to equal treatment under Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to property under Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the Convention, and to education under Article 2 of Protocol 2 of the Convention?

Facts

Prior to 2025, VAT was not charged on private schools. The Labour Party’s 2024 general election manifesto included a commitment to charge VAT on private school fees and invest the proceeds in state education. The Labour Party won the July 2024 general election and the new Labour government launched a consultation on how to implement its policy on private school fees. As part of this process, the government considered whether to exempt religious schools’ fees from VAT. The government decided not to make any exceptions because they would diminish the revenue generated and also be unfair, unworkable and administratively onerous. The Finance Act 2025 imposed VAT on private school fees. Several groups of claimants brought judicial review claims, arguing the imposition of VAT on private school fees was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The two claimants in the first appeal are BYL, a boy from the Charedi Jewish community who attends a private Charedi Jewish secondary school, and BYL’s father, BAU. The vast majority of Charedi Jewish children attend independent faith schools (although there are also a small number of Charedi state-maintained schools). The Charedi Jewish community is primarily low-income, and Charedi families are often large. Therefore, the fees to attend Charedi Jewish schools are low (typically less than £100 a week). In consequence, many Charedi Jewish schools’ finances are precarious. It is said that charging VAT on school fees undermines many Charedi Jewish private schools’ financial viability and therefore risks depriving Charedi Jewish children of religiously appropriate education or forcing them to be home educated. The claimants in the second appeal are four Evangelical Christian private schools, children who attend those schools and the children’s parents. The schools place Christian faith at the heart of their curriculum and community. It is important to the claimant parents that their children are educated in a distinctly Christian environment. The schools fear that the imposition of VAT will undermine their financial viability and the parents fear they will be unable to afford the increased school fees. The Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal both dismissed the appellants’ claims. They now seek to appeal to the Supreme Court.