§ Mr. RaynsfordTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 26 January,Official Report, column 291, what appraisal was made by his Department of the merits of local schools and medical services in (a) Camberley, (b) Greenwich and (c) Bracknell.
§ Mr. SoamesAs I explained in my previous answer, the key assessment that we have made in respect of schools and medical services is the extent to which students at the proposed joint services command and staff college, and their families, could benefit from ready access to common facilities.
The married quarters serving Bracknell and Camberley are close to the college, so students' children form a significant proportion of the local school population. As a result, some schools have been able to make special provision to cater for this group, such as adjusting the teaching year to coincide with that of the college's, and providing special language and cultural training for the children of foreign students. In Greenwich, however, the married quarters supporting the college are dispersed and situated outside the borough, so no appraisal of the merits of Greenwich schools was appropriate.
Medical care is available on a simillar basis to officers, and their families, at all three sites, but, again, the relative proximity of the associated married quarters to the 121W colleges at Bracknell and Camberley makes access to common medical services much easier