§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total and per capita Government expenditure on boarding school allowances for children of armed forces personnel, the number of children covered, and the proportion of children in such schools with parents stationed permanently in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. LeeFor the total expenditure on boarding school allowance for children of armed forces personnel and the proportion of those in receipt of the allowance who are currently serving in the United Kingdom I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer which I gave him on 26 June 1985 at column 435. Current payments cover some 21,500 children. The average annual payment in 1984–85 was some £3,600 a child: it is estimated that about 30 per cent. of this amount would have been recovered by the Inland Revenue in tax.