§ Mr. Frank Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the 602W answer of 10 March, Official Report, column 362, if he will now give the information originally requested for each of the last 10 years relating to the number of diplomatic personnel who receive assistance under his Department's scheme for help with defraying the costs of private education for their children; and if he will now also give the breakdown originally requested in relation to the same staff.
§ Mr. EggarThe total cost to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of providing boarding school allowance for the financial years 1975–76 to 1984–85 was as follows:
£ 1975–76 3,135,401 1976–77 3,512,229 1977–78 3,358,337 1978–79 3,790,371 1979–80 4,011,280 1980–81 4,962,267 1981–82 5,663,088 1982–83 7,465,177 1983–84 5,940,981 1984–85 6,239,908 The reply given to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East (Mr. Nellist), on 28 October 1985, at column 359, on the figures from 1979–80 explained the exceptional nature of the 1982–83 figure.
The number of employees in receipt of boarding school allowance from 1983 is as follows:
Number March 1983 864 March 1984 860 March 1985 839 Figures for earlier years were not collated and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Costs of fares for children's journeys since 1977 are as follows:
£ 1977–78 830,594 1978–79 789,212 1979–80 925,660 1980–81 995,424 1981–82 1,129,908 1982–83 1,215,928 1983–84 1,155,819 1984–85 1,005,303 Costs of fares of children from 1975–78 were not collated separately from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's total travel costs.