Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing assistance with VAT on school fees to children of service families not currently in receipt of the Continuity of Education Allowance.

The Continuity of Education (CEA) scheme recognises the enormous sacrifices our military families make and aims to minimise the disruption to their children’s education caused by Service commitments involving frequent moves of the family home.

The Government remains committed to improving Service life and renewing the nation’s contract with those who serve and their families. Whilst the new VAT policy does not offer any exemptions, the Government is committed to monitoring how these changes affect military families, with any potential adjustments to the scheme being considered during the next Spending Review.

To protect the integrity of the allowance the Secretary of State has directed that the cap on the current rates is uprated, and CEA rates are recalculated to take into account the addition of VAT. This will ensure the Ministry of Defence continues to pay up to 90% of private school fees following the taxation changes.