§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about action the Service Children's Education Association intends to take regarding critical HMI/Ofsted reports on private and independent schools benefiting from the service children's boarding school allowance scheme.
§ Mr. HanleyThe Service Children's Education Authority will send copies of HMI/Ofsted reports to parents with children at the schools concerned.
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many pupils at private and independent schools are benefiting from the service children's boarding school allowance;
(2) how much the service children's boarding school allowance scheme has cost his Department in 1993–94; and if he will give his estimate for 1994–95;
(3) if he will list the amount of money being spent by his Department under the service children's boarding school allowances scheme and each of the private and independent schools benefiting from the scheme;
(4) if he will list the names and location of the private and independent schools receiving moneys from the service children's boarding school allowance.
§ Mr. HanleyFor the spring term 1994, boarding school allowance—BSA was claimed in respect of a total of 13,608 service children. Some of these attend schools in the state sector and numbers of just those attending private and independent schools could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Expenditure on BSA for the financial year 1993–94 is currently estimated at £133,360,000. It is not possible to provide an estimate for financial year 1994–95 at this stage as total expenditure will reflect both the rate of BSA and the total number of children in respect of whom it is claimed. A list of schools attended by the children of BSA claimants is not compiled annually. I am arranging, however, for a copy of the most recent version which was compiled in 1992, to be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Service Children's Education Association to send to parents of the children at Finborough, Rodney and Lime House schools the recent HMI/Ofsted reports on that school.
§ Mr. HanleyI expect the Service Children's Education Authority to send the reports on Finborough and Lime House schools to parents before the end of April. It is not intended to distribute the report on Rodney school which relates to an inspection that took place in 1991, and is regarded by the Department of Education as being out of date.
Defence Land Agency
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement regarding the circumstances which led to the arrest of Charles Ellis and Roger Pannell from the Defence Land Agency, by his Department's police; and on what date the arrest took place.
§ Mr. HanleyI confirm that the Ministry of Defence police are investigating certain activities concerning 149W disposal of MOD property in south-west England. Several arrests were made in August and September 1993 but as yet no charges have been laid. An MOD employee has been suspended from duty while inquiries continue. As the MOD police have yet to complete their investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.