Gareth Buckley

@Dave_Tingle @PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei So, significant cost increases and yet none of the private schools are struggling? I suspect your political blinkers may be firmly in place here. I suppose if you’re hoping for another election run it pays to toe the party line.

@bucklesG @PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei I run an education business. No failures yet though. The numbers speak for themselves. This narrative where private schools are ‘closing all over the place’ and ‘state schools are being swamped’ and ‘no money is being raised’ is mostly make believe I’m surprised you fell for it

Another private school has closed because of Labour’s school tax (Our Lady’s Abingdon). This government is tearing down a world-class education sector and punishing parents who work hard to give their children the best start in life all to score cheap political points

@Dave_Tingle @PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei And my background qualifies me to comment on business failures. I’d love to know how you gained your experience on the subject, or is it merely a political trope?

@Dave_Tingle @PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei Any business will struggle if you whack customers with a 20% price hike, higher NI and scrap the 80% charitable relief on business rates (worth hundreds of thousands a year for some schools). That triple hit would floor plenty of healthy organisations. schools are no different!

@Dave_Tingle @PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei Closures aren’t just about pupil numbers. Losses are regional, hitting areas with no spare state capacity. Each closure brings redundancy costs, unemployment claims & loss of local spend. far bigger impact than you and others suggest

@bucklesG @PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei Private schools have closed every year which will indeed cause temporary local problems. More open though. Private schools have actually increased (from 2421 schools to 2456). There are genuine arguments to be made against VAT for private schools, but it isn't that one.

@Dave_Tingle @PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei Capacity isn’t evenly spread. Where schools are closing there are major capacity issues. You have no idea of the costs. Redundancies and unemployment costs alone will be v large.

@bucklesG @PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei Private sector fell by 1.85% (11k children). All sectors fell by 0.7% due to low birth rates (60k). There is space in state schools. Are you claiming that state schools are overwhelmed by having 49,000 FEWER students than last year? Not in the £Billions/yr huge though.

@Dave_Tingle @PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei It’s not one child is it. If a school closes all of those children go to local schools so the one extra child point is disingenuous. If you had any experience of business closures you would know the huge impact a business closure has on local suppliers. It’s pretty obvious

@bucklesG @PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei The costs are mostly fixed costs. You don’t have to employ another 1/29 of a teacher when the 30th child joins. It’s easier for the government to budget like that and also it incentivises schools to attract students. ‘Huge’ in comparison to what?

@Dave_Tingle @PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei It is costing extra for children in state. If there is no cost then why does the gov fund £8k per child and the schools are still under resourced? Also the schools that remain open can claim VAT which they couldn’t before. Also the cost of closure on the supply chain is huge.

@bucklesG @PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei You’re making incorrect assumptions here. 1) it isn’t actually *costing* money, it’s raising money. 2) Children often move to other private schools. Also, a class of 30 costs the same as 29. Sure, the schools get £8k extra funding, but *actual* school costs are the same.

@PSDuffy @BellaWallerstei VAT is a tax on the parents, not the school. It effectively means reduced demand. At the moment this scheme is costing the country a lot of money as we all now pay those children’s fees. Not to mention the costs of redundancy etc for employees

@BellaWallerstei If a business can't survive when it's made to pay its fair share of tax, then it wasn't viable and/or well run to begin with.

@robinmmorrison @SomersetCouncil The previous CFO took redundancy according to BBC. Why give someone a redundancy payout if there is still a position? Doesn’t make sense bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

Somerset Council @SomersetCouncil which is effectively bankrupt has now appointed an interim chief finance officer (ICFO), the third in a year, at a cost of £7,000 a week. Surely the Council doesn't have to pay that much for an ICFO. The ICFO must be amazing for that pay!

@jebear @apoliticaleye @anthonyboutall Why is it? Who are you to restrict others from making a choice for their family? Why not restrict in other areas too? Where does it stop?

@bucklesG @apoliticaleye @anthonyboutall Bit of a straw man reach there. We can do Scandi-socialism where all schools are free and funded by the state.

@jebear @apoliticaleye @anthonyboutall There should be no private cars. Public transport only. There should be no homeowners. Council houses only…problem fixed? I think not

@apoliticaleye @anthonyboutall There should be no private schools. Problem fixed.

We need witnesses/dashcam after a fire at Silk Mills Park & Ride #Taunton which destroyed minibuses used by people with disabilities & schoolchildren. If you can help pls call 101 ref 5225117181. We expect Park & Ride & school services to run tomorrow, but check @TravelSomerset.

@TCenturylife @CharlesHThyme But that costs everyone more as then the state is paying their education too

@CharlesHThyme Welcome to the real world you still have a choice - pay the tax or go state, some of us only have the one choice

When did the Left start taking pride in being anti-education?

@paulsregor @CharlotteW_R @NextGenMP Maybe give away half your house to someone without one. It starts with everyone having a stake….

@CharlotteW_R @NextGenMP I know. More than most. But the answer is to pressure to make state education the best it can be. It starts by everyone having a stake. Jobs can be taken up ...all good.

Who really funds public services? £35k salary (2 kids in state school) -£9.6k net loss £35k salary (2 kids in private school) +£5.4k net benefit £60k salary (state school) -£6.4k £60k salary (private school) +£9.3k £110k salary (state school) +£21.3k £110k salary (private school) +£36.3k The more you earn, the more you fund, especially if you opt out of state services. And yet, according to Labour ideology, those using Independent Schools are the bad guys getting a made-up tax break? @bphillipsonMP would contribute £15,000 more per year towards public services if she opted for an independent school for her 2 children. That would leave 2 spaces at a top state school for a lower income family but no, her ideology takes priority over helping lower income families. @EducationNotTax #educationtax

@LordNumpty @LOUISES52199231 So this is the new corn tax? 🌽

@LOUISES52199231 In all seriousness if the tax raid after LA costs of dealing with displaced kids around to £ 0.75bn and if press ahead with breakfast club £55 per kid x 10 mill kids there is nothing left - so a bowl of cornflakes is the prize !

So finally the gov have been forced to confirm .. state school parents and teachers LISTEN UP any funds leftover from taxing private education WILL NOT go directly to state schools , it will get swallowed up paying for illegal migrant hotels , public funding and such like .. state school kids and teachers will not see one penny @EducationNotTax

@aj_hine @IrritableChris @richjohnston @PaulKetchley @afneil Have you missed the words secondary places added in preparation. Do t want back and forth but you are not objective.

@bucklesG @IrritableChris @richjohnston @PaulKetchley @afneil Have you missed the words “465,000 unfilled places in secondary schools?” Each school has a registered number of places that it is funded to provide. This data is for the unfilled places ie the registered (funded) places currently not occupied.

A leading educational research charity (NFER) reinforces my point, estimating that it will cost £5 billion — not the £1.7 billion VAT on school fees MIGHT raise — to employ an extra 6,500 teachers by 2029/30.

@aj_hine @IrritableChris @richjohnston @PaulKetchley @afneil Thank you. That’s in relation to primary only, doesn’t take into account the subsequent increase in secondary…and doesn’t say these are fully funded. Selective facts paint a false picture

@bucklesG @IrritableChris @richjohnston @PaulKetchley @afneil Sure Gareth. It’s in the “unfilled places” section. See photo here for your convenience. Hope this helps.

@aj_hine @IrritableChris @richjohnston @PaulKetchley @afneil Please point out where the 1 million fully funded but unused spaces are in the report?

@bucklesG @IrritableChris @richjohnston @PaulKetchley @afneil Ah, this is the classic “I don’t believe the official figures because I know better” argument is it? Here’s the data - …e-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistic…

@aj_hine @IrritableChris @richjohnston @PaulKetchley @afneil That would equate to over 9 billion. If there were really that many vacant spaces they wouldn’t need the VAT tax in the first place…

@IrritableChris @richjohnston @PaulKetchley @afneil Oh dear, you are struggling with this aren’t you! 1) there are over 1 million funded vacant places in our state schools (more than the total number of kids in schools

@chris_burns79 @Imogenlemon02 @BellaWallerstei Mid year change can only be for maximum disruption. The ban on disposable vapes has a 2 year implementation. Why no similar introduction to protect those studying for GCSEs

@Imogenlemon02 @BellaWallerstei Many countries whose children are in private schools give the parents tax breaks. The system was fine as it was. Instead,for some ideological nonsense, which may or may not raise money long term, will damage children's education put more strain on state schools &cost jobs. Great.

Labour’s school fee tax starts today - pointless, vindictive policy. It will force over 35,000 extra pupils into the state system, costing taxpayers £270 million. Massive disruption and misery with no real benefit. The fight to reverse it starts now!!