As many of you will know, as part of the Labour Westminster Government’s tax raising agenda, the Chancellor announced that VAT would be levied against independent schools across the United Kingdom.

Inevitably, this means that this cost will be passed down to the parents of pupils forcing many to make difficult decisions.

Contrary to popular belief, these schools are not just for the children of millionaires.

Many parents have sacrificed and saved for years to send their children to an independent school, and this decision to levy VAT will force parents to withdraw their children and put them into our overstretched state school system.

Having spoken with independent schools there is a very real concern that the implementation of VAT on schools will have very implications especially on families with pupils on partial bursaries

Pupils on partial bursaries will struggle as schools across Wales are forced to withdraw or reduce this financial support that many aspirational students heavily rely on.

This will end up putting pressures on our education system which is already struggling following years of mismanagement and underfunding from Labour ministers.

When Labour announced this policy last year, the then Shadow Minister for Education admitted that this policy would mean larger class sizes and we have already seen stories of up to 60 pupils in a classroom which is clearly unacceptable.

Not only this, but it is estimated that the policy could cost Welsh schools as much as £18 million, a staggering amount of money that our schools cannot afford.

The Labour Government in Westminster has argued that the money raised from this levy will be reinvested into the school system however I have concerns that, as this money will go to the treasury, this extra funding may not be passed down to schools in Wales.

There is a very real chance that our schools in Wales get short changed and our education system comes under further pressure.

I hope that Labour Ministers in Cardiff Bay will stand up to their colleagues in Westminster and ensure that this funding is passed from the treasury to the Welsh Government.

More importantly, every penny of this extra funding must make its way to the frontlines of schools and not redistributed to other portfolios or lost in administrative costs.