§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Defence, further to the reply of 10 January, Official Report, column 528, concerning departmental expenditure on boarding school allowances, whether such allowances are payable when scholastic instruction is available locally in the English language; and whether he will provide in respect of the armed forces (a) a breakdown showing the numbers of children drawn from each command area receiving an allowance and the number being educated locally and (b) the average cost to the Government of each child educated locally and the corresponding figure for those receiving an allowance, including the cost of visits to parents at the public expense.
§ Mr. LeeBoarding school allowance is payable in respect of service children irrespective of whether scholastic instruction is available locally in the English language. In the case of children of parents in the armed forces, the allowance is paid to ensure continuity of education. It is for parents to choose whether to claim the allowance in order to achieve continuity for their children or to have their children with them on their frequent postings at home and abroad and send them to local schools.
(a) Boarding school allowance records are not maintained centrally in the form requested and cannot be obtained without disproportionate effort. In 1983–84, it is estimated that there were some 9,000 children of service parents who were in receipt of an allowance and who were serving abroad. The numbers of children educated in local schools run by the Service Children's Education Authority as at September 1984 were as follows: British Forces Germany 24,855; Cyprus 1,718; Gibraltar 643; Hong Kong 1,844; and Naples 90.(b) In 1983–84 the average cost to the Government of each child educated locally in schools run by the Service Children's Education Authority is estimated at £2,275. In the same year the estimated average cost of a child of service parents serving overseas who were in receipt of an allowance was £2,516. The cost of visits to parents at the public expense is not separately identifiable.