Cash-strapped Cheshire East is monitoring pupil application numbers to assess how the chancellor's decision to charge VAT on private schools will impact the council.

Cllr Jos Saunders (Poynton, Con) raised concerns about how the extra charge may affect the council's finances when it is introduced in January.

"Anecdotally, I know there are children in Cheshire East who may not have an EHCP (education, health and care plan) but whose parents and health workers would say that they have special needs," said Cllr Saunders.

"The parents are funding them in private schools. What impact is that going to have on us?

"Because one, they may well decide to go down the EHCP route so that they get their funding, or two, they come into mainstream school.

"And that isn't only just our children with special needs who may come back into the system, it's our other children too."

Director of education Claire Williamson said: "We have seen, over the summer period before the announcement of the budget came out, we did see an increase in applications, school admissions and appeals coming through."

She said the council was monitoring the situation and also talking to private schools.

Committee chair Carol Bulman (Lab) said there is capacity in mainstream schools in Cheshire East and added: "There is the prediction that it's highly unlikely we will receive a big influx of children from the schools."

Cllr Saunders told her: "It wasn't actually about our capacity… it was actually the cost to the council about the children coming back into mainstream."

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