§ Commander Purseyasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number of new entries this term into the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, Suffolk; and how many are officers' sons and ratings' orphans, respectively.
§ Mr. J. P. W. MallalieuEighty-four new boys entered the Royal Hospital School this term. Of these eight (including one orphan) are the sons of direct entry officers; twenty-one (including one orphan) are the sons of officers promoted after at least four years' service on the lower deck; and fifty-five (including six orphans) are the sons of ratings. My hon. and gallant Friend will be glad to appreciate that as time passes after a war, the number of Service orphans of school age diminishes.
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§ Commander Purseyasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number of officers' sons at the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, Suffolk, whose fees are wholly paid from the Services Education Fund and whose parents pay nothing; and how many ratings' widows have to pay fees.
§ Mr. J. P. W. MallalieuThere are at the Royal Hospital School twenty-four sons of direct entry officers and one hundred and four sons of officers promoted after at least four years' service on the lower deck, in respect of whom full fees are paid. Their parents are eligible to claim Navy Education Allowance, in the same way as the two hundred serving ratings who have sons at the school. There are at the school thirteen sons of ratings' widows whose mothers contribute towards the fees; in each case the parental contribution is less than the full amount of the fee.
§ Commander Purseyasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will abolish the earnings rule for ratings' widows in assessing the fees to be paid for their orphan sons at the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, Suffolk.
§ Mr. J. P. W. MallalieuContributions towards the fees are based on the parent's ability to pay, and great care is taken to avoid hardship to widows.