HC Deb 29 May 1957 vol 571 cc404-5
44 and 47. Mr. Pitman

asked the Minister of Defence (1) in view of the change in defence policy, what changes he proposes in his policy in respect to frequent postings of officers and men having children of school-age; and whether he will establish standards so that no one be required to move more than, say, five times during the educational life of any of their children:

(2) whether, in so far as factors of essential mobility of officers and men in the Armed Forces having children of school age will make it impossible for the established standard to be achieved, he will offer to provide the money for boarding school education and not require the local education authority to defray the expense of what is properly a national and not a local burden.

Mr. Sandys

We shall do our best to reduce the frequency of movements to the minimum; but it would not be possible to introduce rigid standards of the kind my hon. Friend suggests. I do not think it would be appropriate to relieve local education authorities of their responsibilities towards children whose parents live in or are connected with the area.

Mr. Pitman

Is it possible to have some bogey at which the Ministry should aim as the number of postings affecting these poor children? Is not the Minister aware that for certain local authorities, for instance, Bath, which has a large naval population which is frequently posted, it is a very shameful burden and one which ought to be borne by the national purse?

Mr. Sandys

The financial question— whether the Exchequer or the local authority should bear the cost—is a different matter, but I am very keenly aware of the importance, in the interests of the well-being of Service families, of reducing the frequency of these movements as far as possible.

Mr. Strachey

Will not the Minister agree that experience has shown that something on the lines of the suggestion of the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Pitman) must be done? The cost of this education is not borne by public authorities in many cases, but is one of the great disincentives to Service life. Will the right hon. Gentleman reconsider bearing the cost centrally?

Mr. Sandys

I am looking not so much into that aspect but into the whole question as part of the task of seeing how we can make conditions in the Services more attractive.

Mr. Paget

As the present change-over in the defence system will obviously make a lot of movement inevitable in the next few years, will the right hon. Gentleman also consider trying to provide more hoarding school facilities with help from central funds? Would not that make a tremendous difference to the number of people staying in the Forces?