Comments on: A Decent Schools Policy

By: DavidNcl

DavidNcl — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:43:55 +0000

Milton Friedman was a fan of vouchers and I won’t deny that they have potential as an interim step. I’ve advocated them myself on occasion. But I’d much rather give people the actual money and let them choose what to do with it.

If they want their kids to leave school at 12 and start work on the family farm who am I to determine that they’re making the wrong choice. Or maybe they want to send the sprogs to a Swiss finishing school. Or home school them so that they can afford to send them to Harvard University in the US of A (bet they don’t take vouchers). Whatever. If you must continue to loot while allternative arrangements arise, give your the clients cash and let them chose how to spend what is, after all, to some extent their money.

This was we devolve decision making all the way down to individuals who know their situations and aspirations rather than the state (at some level) choosing for them?

By: Arneson Stidgeley

Arneson Stidgeley — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:22:52 +0000

Just give parents the money – forget about the added complexities of ‘vouchers’.

That will give real choice.

By: Andrew Duffin

Andrew Duffin — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:14:26 +0000

Ed, no, no, the LEA’s have to go.

Completely.

If you leave even a vestige (as if you could – remember Parkinson’s Law), they will just become the thin end of anothe wedge, and before very long we’ll be right back where we started.

Radical reform is what’s needed. Nothing else will work.

By: Andrew Duffin

Andrew Duffin — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:12:17 +0000

All good stuff except the zero-rating for VAT bit.

Our masters in Brussels won’t allow that.

By: The Remittance Man

The Remittance Man — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:08:55 +0000

The arguments have been doing the rounds of the blogospere for ages. I’ve even made a few myself.

I think what’s really important here is that the issue is finally making it into the MSM. It may not be the wholething, but surely it’s a step in the ight direction.

By: Kay Tie

Kay Tie — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:02:07 +0000

“If the LEAs offer useful, cost effective services to schools, they will survive. If not, schools will opt out and the LEA will lose its funding (now bottom up rather than top down). Let the market decide.”

Very much so. Schools can purchase very much more effectively when they get together and negotiate large discounts. This centralisation can emerge when effective.

By: Ed

Ed — Wed, 21 May 2008 10:21:37 +0000

Abolish local education authorities

The government doesn’t have to abolish LEAs. With the money going as a voucher to the parents, all they have to do is give each state school the unilateral right to withdraw from LEA control if they wish, and withdraw any powers from the LEA to stop new independent schools being created.

If the LEAs offer useful, cost effective services to schools, they will survive. If not, schools will opt out and the LEA will lose its funding (now bottom up rather than top down). Let the market decide.

By: Kit

Kit — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:37:14 +0000

To throw my hat into the ring - how about a tax credit system?

By: Mark Wadsworth

Mark Wadsworth — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:22:54 +0000

Excellent sentiments, but he is wrong on two technical points:

1. The value of charitable tax breaks is only a few hundred pounds per pupil, and is probably regressive, i.e. the value to old, rich establishments is far higher than to smaller, less wealthy schools. These tax breaks are a red herring, scrap ‘em.

2. Schools are VAT -exempt, that means they don’t charge VAT but can’t recover input VAT. Making them zero-rated means they still don’t have to charge VAT but can recover input VAT, so ultimately the effect would be much like the charity tax break and adds to the admin and faff.

By: Kay Tie

Kay Tie — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:22:26 +0000

“except they cannot zero rate them for VAT if they have not already been zero rated because of our old friend the EU wouldn’t allow it.”

That assumes that the EU would say “no”. Why would it?

By: steve_roberts

steve_roberts — Wed, 21 May 2008 08:39:29 +0000

The most important thing about ‘the market’ is that things are sold retail, rather than through contracts handed out to sweetheart providers, nominally not public sector but in practice still indifferent to the needs of the consumer

By: chris strange

chris strange — Wed, 21 May 2008 08:18:37 +0000

except they cannot zero rate them for VAT if they have not already been zero rated because of our old friend the EU wouldn’t allow it.