Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) increasing the termly rates and (b) expanding the eligibility criteria for the Continuity of Education Allowance.

The Ministry of Defence recognises the unique circumstances faced by our Service personnel and that frequent mobility can disrupt children’s education. Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) helps by providing the children of Service personnel with a stable education that would not otherwise be available in the state-maintained day school sector, due to their family’s mobility.

Termly rates of CEA are recalculated to account for changes to fees made by schools for the new academic year. This is usually an annual event but as schools changed their fees for January 2025 in response to the Government’s new VAT policy, the CEA rates were recalculated in December 2024. New rates will be calculated ahead of changes in school fees for September 2025.

CEA is available to all eligible Service personnel and the eligibility criteria are as expansive as necessary to meet the aim of the allowance. To make a claim, the family of the Service person claiming must remain living together; be likely to move in the succeeding four years; and, agree that having chosen a school, their child will stay there until the end of their education stage.