§ Mrs. Bridget PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the amount of VAT which would be payable in the next financial year by schools if the tax were extended to books and periodicals, assuming unchanged patterns of expenditure.
§ Mr. Robin SquireNone. I cannot comment on speculation about possible Budget measures. But local education authority schools are able to claim refunds of the VAT costs they incur on their purchases. Self-governing schools receive a special purpose grant to compensate them for their VAT costs on leaving the LEA sector.