§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the cost of private education for children of service men funded by his Ministry for each year since 1979.
§ Mr. SoamesThe total cost of boarding school allowance paid by my Department in each year since 1979 is as follows:
Date Amount £ 1979–80 31,010,000 1980–81 47,240,000 1981–82 59,960,000 1982–83 66,380,000 1983–84 72,650,000 1984–85 77,870,000 1985–86 85,000,000 1986–87 93,600,000 1987–88 106,580,000 1988–89 107,100,000 1989–90 104,510,000 1990–91 105,610,000 1991–92 115,350,000 1992–93 116,720,000 1993–94 113,610,000
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the cost limit for each pupil cost per annum in respect of private education of children of servicemen funded by his Ministry.
§ Mr. SoamesBoarding school allowance is paid up to a maximum annual limit, and service parents in receipt are expected to make a contribution of 10 per cent. to the fees. The maximum annual limits admissible for 1994–1995 are as follows:
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Rate Per annum £ Junior 5,358 Senior 6,579 SENA1 8,772 1 Special Educational Needs Allowance Where fees are higher than these maximum rates of boarding school allowance, parents are expected to make up any shortfall themselves.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list(a) the schools and (b) the number of pupils at each for whom his Department has paid fees for each year since 1990, and if he will give the total number of pupils thus funded in each year since 1990.
§ Mr. SoamesA copy of the most recently complied list of schools which are admissible for parents of service children to claim boarding school allowance was placed in the Library of the House on 16 January 1995. This list includes information on the number of service children attending each school in June 1994. This information is not collected annually, and is therefore not held in this format for each year since 1990. The only additional data available pertains to 1992 and the accuracy of this information can no longer be validated. The total number of pupils for whom boarding school allowance was claimed in each year since 1990 is as follows:
1990–1991: 17,910
- 1991–1992: 16,208
- 1992–1993: 15,120
- 1993–1994; 12,567