§ Commander Purseyasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the authority for the Naval Education Allowance, the date of origin and reasons; what amount is included in the current Navy Estimates; and to how many schools grants are made for the education of the sons of officers and ratings, respectively, and to officers' widows and ratings' widows, respectively.
§ Mr. J. P. W. MallalieuThe authority for payment of Children's Education and Maintenance Allowance is Naval Pay Regulations BR 1950, Article 1351. These allowances were introduced on 11th November, 1955, in all three services. They are paid to members of the Forces who, in order to avoid frequent changes of school for their children when they are posted, either send them to boarding school or board them with either relatives or friends while they attend day school. For this reason the allowances are not 239W payable to officers' and ratings' widows. The amount included in current Navy Estimates for this purpose is £515,000.
The Navy Department does not make grants direct to schools.