Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding was allocated to Continuity of Education Allowance for boarding schools in the UK in 2021-22.

Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) is provided by the Ministry of Defence to eligible Service Personnel (SP) to assist them funding a place in a boarding school to achieve continuity of education for their children that would otherwise be denied in the maintained day school sector if their children accompanied them on frequent and consecutive assignments. CEA is available to all SP irrespective of rank, subject to them satisfying the eligibility criteria.

The total spend on CEA in Financial Year 2021-22 was £83,460,088. SP are required to make a personal contribution of 8% for the state sector, or 10% for the independent sector. CEA is subject to a termly cap and SP are required to pay any fees in excess of this.