§ MR. BELLAIRS (Lynn Regis)To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty, if he will state what is the total annual cost 601 of a cadet's training at Osborne, to the State and to the parent, inclusive of all outfitters' charges and of proportionate charges for interest on capital cost, depreciation, and staff for all buildings and attached vessels; whether such charges allow for wastage owing to cadets being withdrawn; and whether he will state the number of cadets joining in the first batch, Midsummer 1903, and how many now remain.
(Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) The net cost to the State of a cadet's training at Osborne, after all payments by parents or guardians have been deducted, is approximately £98 per annum, inclusive of proportionate charges for interest and repayment of capital outlay, and staff for all buildings and attached vessels and boats, but exclusive of capital expenditure in connection with vessels. This estimate is based on the assumption that the full number of cadets will be borne in the college throughout each term. The fees paid by the parents for the cadet's training are £75 a year, but in the case of a certain number of officers of the Army or Navy in straitened circumstances this charge is reduced to £40 a year. All claims to this reduction are carefully considered in each individval case. In addition to this, the parents are expected to pay the amounts for pocket money, travelling expenses, &c, such as are usual in schools in this country, and to provide their sons with clothing. A total of seventy-five cadets joined the college when it was opened, of which number sixty remain. The wastage in this instance was exceptional.