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Parliamentary question - E-001704/2015Parliamentary question
E-001704/2015

Funding from the European Social Fund

Question for written answer E-001704-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Anneliese Dodds (S&D)

Every year, thousands of English language teachers from across Europe come to the UK in order to participate in teacher training courses. These courses give those teachers the opportunity to develop professionally and to share best practice with like-minded colleagues, and they strengthen cultural ties across the EU. The courses also mean a significant economic boost for the UK communities where they are taught.

Until 2013, these teachers came to the UK through Comenius actions, part of the EU’s Lifelong Learning Programme. In 2014 this was replaced by the Erasmus+ programme.

The UK government’s HM Revenue & Customs department is now proposing to start charging VAT on these courses, which would mean that they would no longer be covered by the grants, and so would become unviable.

However, these courses should automatically be exempt from VAT if the funding for them — via the Comenius, Grundtvig or Erasmus+ programmes — originates from the European Social Fund.

Can the Commission confirm whether the funding for (a) Comenius, (b) Grundtvig and/or (c) Erasmus+ comes from the European Social Fund?