§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will extend(a) the size of the grant and (b) the length of time allowed for the individual refund scheme for military personnel to attend approved resettlement courses. [41867]
§ Dr. ReidThe Individual Refund Scheme (IRS) permits all serving members of the Armed Forces to reclaim a proportion of the cost of fees paid to civilian 261W bodies for certain personal development courses and examinations. The Individual Resettlement Training Costs (IRTC) grant is a separate allowance payable to personnel with five years or more Service, in their final year, to help meet the costs of resettlement training courses. As part of the Strategic Defence Review, we are examining possible enhancement of the provision of education for Servicemen and Servicewomen.