Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish an assessment of the potential impact of VAT on school fees on children of service families who are (a) in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance and (b) attending an independent school but not in receipt of that Allowance.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) provides Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to Service personnel to minimise the disruption to their children’s education caused by service commitments involving frequent moves of the family home. Their circumstances must fit within specific regulations as laid out in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 752 (Tri-Service Regulations for Expenses and Allowances), Chapter 14, especially around accompanied service and family mobility.

The single Services will monitor the impact on retention in service for those claiming CEA following the introduction of VAT on independent school fees. The Pay and Allowances Casework and Complaints Cell (PACCC) will monitor the impact on Service personnel changing schools and withdrawing from CEA. Where a Service person does not meet the eligibility criteria as laid out in JSP 752 and has made a personal choice to use a private school for their child’s education, the MOD is not involved.