Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Questions 7840, 7842 and 7843 on Armed Forces: Private Education, whether he has held discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of (a) introducing VAT exemptions for serving personnel making use of the Continuity of Education Allowance and (b) increasing the budget for the Continuity of Education Allowance to mitigate the impact of the planned introduction of VAT.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 October 2024 to Question 6838 to the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty).