Nick Gibb, shadow schools minister, is reported in the Times as saying the Tories would keep the charity law as it is. However, they would challenge the way it is interpreted by the Charity Commission. Schools would be given more freedom to decide how they meet the public benefit test. At present the Charity Commission has ruled that schools have to prove their fees are not a barrier to accessing the education they provide and advised that they should provide means-tested bursaries. This has resulted in most schools switching their financial support from academic scholarships to bursaries. Overall, independent schools are said to benefit by nearly £100m pa in tax breaks from charitable status.