§ Mr. HansonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving armed forces personnel in the United Kingdom who live within daily travelling distance of their work base have financial support from his Department for their children to attend independent schools; and what is his estimate of the cost.
§ Mr. SoamesThe information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. Boarding school allowance is paid to assist eligible service parents of all ranks to provide a stable education for their children and to avoid the disruptive school changes which would otherwise be likely to occur as a result of the frequent postings within the United Kingdom and abroad to which service personnel are liable. Eligibility depends on the liability of service parents to be posted within the course of a discrete stage of education for the child. It may well happen, therefore, that for part of this period the service parent is working and living close to the school selected for the child.