§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the effect of(a) opting out and (b) local management of schools on the ability of individual schools to reclaim value added tax.
§ Sir Wyn RobertsGrant-maintained schools are expected to meet the cost of VAT on supplies and services. Special purpose grant for value added tax is payable by the Welsh Office to help compensate them for the additional costs of VAT which cannot be met from within their annual maintenance grant.
When the governing body of a LEA-maintained school enters into a contract to spend part of its delegated budget, it does so on behalf of its local authority. The LEA's ability to claim refunds of VAT on purchases in respect of their non-business activities is not therefore, affected by our local management of schools arrangements.