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1151132

registered interest
date	21/10/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of continuity of education allowances for placements at (a) Fettes (b) Gordonstoun (c) Marlborough (d) King's Canterbury (e) Cheltenham (f) Tonbridge (g) Stowe (h) Benenden (i) Ampleforth and (j) Clifton private schools and colleges in 2018-19; how many there were at each school and college in that year; and what the (i) civil service grade and (ii) diplomatic service title was of each claimant.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
uin	2951
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2019 answer text <p>Members of the diplomatic service are expected to be widely deployable throughout their career. Whilst many parents prefer to take their children with them abroad, in some of the 168 countries and territories where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has UK-based staff, we do not permit staff to take their children either for health or security reasons, and frequent moves by staff and families between the UK and overseas, and between Posts overseas, can be disruptive to the education of the children. Therefore, the FCO provides Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA). This enables staff who meet certain eligibility criteria to choose to provide an uninterrupted education for their children at a British boarding school in the United Kingdom while they continue to take up postings overseas at regular intervals during their career. CEA is a long-standing FCO policy dating back in its current form to 1996 that provides clearly defined and limited financial support to staff to help maintain the continuity of their children's education. The FCO refunds standard term fees up to a ceiling which is reviewed annually. Where staff opt to send their children to more expensive schools, the difference in cost is met by the individual member of staff.</p><p>The figures below represent the data for financial year 2018/19. We are unable to provide the diplomatic service title for each claimant in order to protect their identity. For context, we have set out the FCO's total spend on education for children of staff posted overseas in PQ 752</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>NUMBER OF OFFICERS PER GRADE</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>School </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of children</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>A2</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>B3</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>C4</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>C5</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>D6</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>D7</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>SMS</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total costs</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ampleforth</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1*</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>129,081</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Fettes</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>97,949</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Gordonstoun</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1*</p></td><td><p>152,656</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Marlborough</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>64,952</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Kings Canterbury</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1*</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>123,642</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Cheltenham</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>56,241</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tonbridge</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1*</p></td><td><p>64,952</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Stowe</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>195,101</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Benendon</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>97,428</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Clifton</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>0.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>TOTAL</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>4</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>5</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>4</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>3</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>982,002</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*officer has 2 children at the school</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 30/10/2019 16:53:23 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher previous answer version 1505 answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	4607 label Biography information for Stephanie Peacock

1151134

registered interest
date	21/10/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many diplomatic staff claimed Continuity of Education Allowance in 2018-19 for UK-based private school fees; how many of the claimants were at each pay grade; and what contribution his Department asked claimants to make towards those fees.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
uin	2953
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2019 answer text <p>Members of the diplomatic service are expected to be widely deployable throughout their career. Whilst many parents prefer to take their children with them abroad, in some of the 168 countries and territories where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has UK-based staff, we do not permit staff to take their children either for health or security reasons, and frequent moves by staff and families between the UK and overseas, and between Posts overseas, can be disruptive to the education of the children. Therefore, the FCO provides Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA). This enables staff who meet certain eligibility criteria to choose to provide an uninterrupted education for their children at a British boarding school in the UK while they continue to take up postings overseas at regular intervals during their career. CEA is a long-standing FCO policy dating back in its current form to 1996 that provides clearly defined and limited financial support to staff to help maintain the continuity of their children's education.</p><p>The FCO refunds standard term fees up to a ceiling which is reviewed annually. Where staff opt to send their children to more expensive schools, the difference in cost is met by the individual member of staff.</p><p>The figures below represent the data for financial year 2018/19. For context, we have set out the FCO's total spend on education for children of staff posted overseas in PQ 752.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p><strong>Grade of Officers </strong></p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>​</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>A2</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>B3</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>C4</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>C5</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>D6</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>D7</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>SMS1</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>SMS2</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>SMS3</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number of Officers claiming CEA by Grade</strong></p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p><strong>5</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>26</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>46</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>46</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>60</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>42</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>62</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>36</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>15</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>338</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 30/10/2019 16:57:57 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher previous answer version 1503 answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	4607 label Biography information for Stephanie Peacock

1150108

registered interest
date	16/10/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department spent from the Continuity of Education Allowance on placements at (a) Eton, (b) Charterhouse, (c) Harrow, (d) Rugby, (e) Shrewsbury, (f) Westminster, (g) Winchester, (h) St Paul's and (i) Merchant Taylors schools in the last financial year for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
uin	1130
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2019 answer text <p>Members of the diplomatic service are expected to be widely deployable throughout their career. Whilst many parents prefer to take their children with them abroad, in some of the 168 countries and territories where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has UK-based staff, we do not permit staff to take their children either for health or security reasons. However, frequent moves by staff and families between the United Kingdom and overseas, and between Posts overseas, can be disruptive to the education of the children. Therefore, the FCO provides Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA). This enables staff who meet certain eligibility criteria to choose to provide an uninterrupted education for their children at a British boarding school in the United Kingdom while they continue to take up postings overseas at regular intervals during their career. CEA is a long-standing FCO policy dating back in its current form to 1996 that provides clearly defined and limited financial support to staff to help maintain the continuity of their children's education.The FCO refunds standard term fees up to a ceiling which is reviewed annually. Where staff opt to send their children to more expensive schools, the difference in cost is met by the individual member of staff.</p><p>The figures below represent the data for financial year 2018/19. For context, we have set out the FCO's total spend on education for children of staff posted overseas in PQ 752.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>School </strong></p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p><strong>CEA Costs</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Eton</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>£295,440.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Charterhouse</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>£97,428.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Harrow</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Rugby</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>£119, 233.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Shrewsbury</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Westminster</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>£78,651.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Winchester</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>£163,345.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>St Pauls</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Merchant Taylors</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 30/10/2019 16:46:54 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher previous answer version 615 answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	4607 label Biography information for Stephanie Peacock

1149534

registered interest
date	15/10/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding his Department has allocated for the Continuity of Education Allowance to fund school places (a) globally and (b) in England in each of the last five financial years.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
uin	752
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2019 answer text <p>Members of the diplomatic service are expected to be widely deployable throughout their career. Whilst many parents prefer to take their children with them abroad, in some of the 168 countries and territories where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has UK-based staff, we do not permit staff to take their children either for health or security reasons. In others, local schools of an acceptable standard are not available. However, frequent moves by staff and families between the United Kingdom and overseas, and between Posts overseas, can be disruptive to the education of the children. Therefore, the FCO provides Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA). This enables staff who meet certain eligibility criteria to choose to provide an uninterrupted education for their children at a British boarding school in the United Kingdom while they continue to take up postings overseas at regular intervals during their career. CEA is a long-standing policy run under successive governments that provides clearly defined and limited financial support to staff to help maintain the continuity of their children's education.</p><p>The figures below are for the whole of the United Kingdom, not just England:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Continuity of Education Figures</p></td><td><p>​</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total CEA Costs</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>£10,932,399.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>£11,725.460.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>£12,703,109.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>£12,409,062.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>£12,943,134.00</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>UK based staff who do not use CEA are still required to ensure that their children receive a full-time education from the start of the school term beginning after the child's 5th birthday, continuing until they reach school leaving age. Where no suitable free English language based schooling is available the FCO will meet the costs of schooling at an appropriate English language school (and in some instances non-English language schools) from a list of pre-identified options in the city where staff are based. Currently free English language based schooling is only available in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Education at Post figures</p></td><td><p>​</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Cost of Private Schools fees overseas</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>£17,266,529.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>£16,125,040.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>£14,339,087.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>£14,207,444.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>£11,782,957.00</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 21/10/2019 15:09:23 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	4607 label Biography information for Stephanie Peacock

1104965

registered interest
date	25/03/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2018 to Question 196148 on Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Education, what the current maximum level of financial subsidy per child is that can be claimed by staff in his Department to support the private education of their children at UK schools.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	236473
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/04/2019 answer text <p>Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff who are posted overseas at regular intervals during their career may claim Continuity of Education Allowance towards the cost of standard tuition fees plus boarding at UK schools, up to the applicable ceiling per term for a junior or senior pupil, and subject to eligibility criteria.</p><p>The current ceilings are (per term, based on a three term school year):</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Senior Boarder</p></td><td><p>£10,570</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Senior Day</p></td><td><p>£7,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Junior Boarder</p></td><td><p>£9,291</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Junior Day</p></td><td><p>£6,504</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Where school fees exceed the termly ceiling, staff are required to meet the difference.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 02/04/2019 16:08:06 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1104967

registered interest
date	25/03/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the corrected Answer of 18 March 2019 to Question 196150 on Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Education, how many of the 541 children whose private education in UK schools was supported by his Department in 2016-17 received the maximum level of financial subsidy available per child.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	236474
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/04/2019 answer text <p>192 of the 541 children did so.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 02/04/2019 16:12:21 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1015387

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what funds his Department allocated to pay the private school fees of the children of staff in his Department at (a) schools in the UK and (b) schools overseas in the last year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	196148
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>In Financial Year 2016/2017, the FCO allocated the following funds to pay the private school fees of the children of FCO staff:</p><p>(a) Schools in the UK: £12,703,109.00</p><p>(b) Schools overseas: £14,339,087.00</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 03/12/2018 17:44:16 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1015388

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff in his Department who had the private school fees of their children paid by his Department were (a) based in posts in the United Kingdom and (b) based in posts overseas in the most recent year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	196149
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>In Financial Year 2016/2017, the FCO funded UK private school fees of children for the following number of staff:</p><p>(a) Staff based in the UK: 172</p><p>(b) Staff based overseas: 174</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 03/12/2018 17:45:36 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1015389

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many children had their private school fees paid by his Department at (a) schools in the UK and (b) schools overseas in the most recent year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	196150
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>In Financial Year 2016/2017, the FCO funded the private school fees for the following number of children:</p><p>(a) At schools in the UK: <ins class="ministerial">541</ins> <del class="ministerial">393 </del></p><p>(b) At schools overseas: 1074</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 03/12/2018 17:47:04 question first ministerially corrected 18/03/2019 12:42:38 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan previous answer version 89699 answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1015390

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much expenditure his Department allocated to pay the private school fees of the children of Departmental staff at each of (a) Cheltenham Ladies College, (b) Roedean School, (c) Wycombe Abbey, (d) Benenden School, (e) Malvern St James, (f) Wellington College, (g) St Francis College, (h) Sevenoaks School, (i) Malvern College and (j) Hurtwood House in the last year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	196151
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>In Financial Year 2016/2017 funding was allocated as below to pay the private school fees of the children of FCO staff at the following schools:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>2016/17</strong></p></td><td><p>​</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>School</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Cheltenham Ladies College</p></td><td><p>£61,693.23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Roedean School</p></td><td><p>£184,744.25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wycombe Abbey</p></td><td><p>£91,476</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Benenden School</p></td><td><p>£30,492</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Malvern St. James</p></td><td><p>£30,492</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wellington College</p></td><td><p>£121,968</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>St. Francis College</p></td><td><p>£0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Seven Oaks School</p></td><td><p>£451,980</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Malvern College</p></td><td><p>£0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Hurtwood House</p></td><td><p>£0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Members of the diplomatic service are expected to be widely deployable throughout their career. It is long-standing practice that the FCO provides clearly defined and limited financial support to staff to help maintain the continuity of their children's education. Many parents prefer to take their children with them abroad, but in some of the 168 countries and territories where the FCO has UK-based staff, we do not permit staff to take their children either for health or security reasons. In others, local schools of an acceptable standard are not available.</p><p>As frequent moves by staff and families between the UK and overseas, and between posts overseas, can be disruptive to the education of the children, the FCO provides Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA). This enables staff who meet certain eligibility criteria to choose to provide an uninterrupted education for their children at a British boarding school in the UK while they continue to take up postings overseas at regular intervals during their career. CEA is a long-standing policy run under successive governments.</p><p>The FCO refunds standard term fees up to a ceiling which is reviewed annually. Where staff opt to send their children to more expensive schools, the difference in cost is met privately. The maximum amount the FCO will pay is determined by an independent survey conducted by Employment Conditions Abroad (ECA) International, which is used by public and private sector employers whose staff work across the world. Various factors, including availability of places (sometimes at short notice) and proximity of other family members, influence which schools staff choose for their children.</p><p>This provision may continue for up to 5 years following an officer's return to the UK, provided the officer will serve overseas again at the end of their home tour (and before the child completes their education), to allow children to complete key stages of their education without multiple disruptions.</p><p>UK-staff based overseas with dependent children living at Post are required to ensure that their children receive a full-time education from the start of the school term beginning after the child's 5th birthday, continuing until they reach school leaving age. At overseas posts where no suitable free English language based schooling is available (currently all countries except Australia, New Zealand and the United States), the FCO will meet the costs of schooling, where available, at an appropriate English language school from a list of pre-identified schools in the city of posting.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 03/12/2018 17:55:01 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry