Independent schools like Haberdashers’ in Monmouth, are facing a “tax triple whammy” as the Welsh Government raises business rates for charity-run private schools Laura Anne Jones MS has warned.

The changes, announced this week, will see 17 fee-charging schools run by charities in Wales facing higher business rates from April.

The schools will lose the 80 per cent relief currently applied to their business rates, in a move the Welsh Government say will “free up as much as £1.3m a year”.

These changes are on top of a VAT hike for private schools in the UK, and an increase to national insurance, which have already resulted in job losses and pupils leaving schools, including those with Additional Learning Needs.

Laura Anne Jones MS, Senedd Member for South Wales East and Shadow Minister for Housing, Local Government and the Armed Forces, said: “Along with the UK Government’s NIC rise and VAT increases, our independent schools are now facing a tax triple whammy with this business rate rise.

“I am very concerned about the impact of this announcement on Haberdashers’ in Monmouth, which is already cutting jobs after the recent VAT hike.

“Private schools have a great reputation for providing fantastic support for pupils, especially those with ALN.

“We need to nurture historic institutions like Haberdashers’, not tax them out of existence.

“If these schools disappear, we won’t just lose fantastic, historic schools, but we will also see a much greater amount of pressure on state schools.”

The newly-merged Haberdashers' Monmouth School recently revealed a new round of staff redundancies as some subjects are axed amid new Government VAT charges and other pressures.

The boys' school, which dates back to 1614, and the girls' school, founded in 1892, merged at the start of the academic year, which saw staff streamlining ahead of the current round