§ 10. Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to relieve local education authorities of the cost of providing boarding education for Service personnel.
§ Dr. GilbertThrough the boarding school allowance, the Ministry of Defence already makes available financial assistance towards the cost of residential education of children of Service personnel.
§ Mr. HughesDoes my right hon. Friend still not agree that a good deal of expenditure is borne by local education authorities and, therefore, by ratepayers? Should not this fall wholly on the defence budget?
§ Dr. GilbertI cannot accept what my hon. Friend says. Grants made by local authorities are discretionary and are in the nature of topping-up grants to cover the gap between the boarding school allowance and the actual cost of board 1166 ing school education. Quite a lot of local authorities make no such grants.
§ Mr. ViggersWill the right hon. Gentleman remind his hon. Friend that boarding school education is available to the children of all ranks and is a necessary part of Service life?
§ Dr. GilbertI quite agree.