Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has allocate funding to his Department's Education Support Fund after April 2018.

Education for Service children is one of the core pillars of the Armed Forces Covenant; ensuring that Service children are not disadvantaged in comparison with their non-Service peers as a result of their parents' service. The Service Pupil Premium provides extra funding to state schools, free schools and academies attended by Service children in England, and the School Admissions Code provides specific measures relating to the school admissions process for Service families.

The Educational Support Fund (ESF) was only ever intended to be a temporary measure, primarily to aid the drawdown of Armed Forces personnel and their families from Germany, and the Ministry of Defence is currently reviewing whether there is a requirement to extend the ESF. Ongoing support for Service children will continue to be provided by the Service Pupil Premium.