Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the potential cost to his Department of the Continuity of Education Allowance for financial year (a) 2024-25, (b) 2025-26, (c) 2026-27, (d) 2027-28 and (e ) 2028-29.

Following the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in year re-rating exercise, the cost of the allowance for Financial Year 2024-25 is £95 million. The cost for Financial Year 2025-2026 is estimated at £104.4 million (based on current rates and cost). Due to the way the Ministry of Defence carries out its annual CEA rate calculation each summer, ready for the new Academic Year in September, estimates for Financial Years 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29 cannot be provided at this time.