HC Deb 17 February 1997 vol 290 cc364-5W
Mr. Jamieson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if his Department intends to send the Office for Standards in Education report on the Quantock school, Somerset, to the parents of service families whose children attend the school; [16118]

(2) if he will make a statement on the suitability of the Quantock school, Somerset, to remain on the service children education authorities admissible schools list; [16120]

(3) what recommendations the Service Children's Education Agency has made to his Department in response to the Ofsted report on Quantock school, Taunton; and if he will make a statement. [16122]

Mr. Soames

Following the recent Ofsted inspection and report on Quantock school, the Service Children's Education Agency has recommended that copies of the report should be sent to service parents whose children attend the school and that the weaknesses identified in that report should be drawn to the attention of parents, that the school should be removed from the admissible school list and that parents who currently have children at the school should be allowed to place them in other schools if they so wish. Quantock school may be considered for readmission to the admissible list at a later date if it is able to meet the criteria proposed for inclusion on the list.

Mr. Jamieson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many pupils attending the Quantock school, Somerset, are participants in the service children's boarding school allowance scheme; and at what cost to his Department. [16117]

Mr. Soames

The Total number of service children attending Quantock school, and whose parents were in receipt of boarding school allowance, was 48 in the autumn term 1996-the latest term for which detailed statistics are available. Information on how much individual schools have received in BSA payments is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.