Dr Al Pinkerton

It is a pleasure to speak with you in the Chair, Mrs Lewell-Buck. My Surrey Heath constituency is home to many outstanding state schools and academies and to six small, extraordinary, highly performing independent schools: Hall Grove, Lyndhurst, Coworth Flexlands, Woodcote House, Knowl Hill and Fernways school. It is quite possible that no hon. Members have heard of those schools. They are not necessarily the big names, but they provide extraordinary education to an extremely loyal following. They provide not only excellent education but essential support, catering to a wide range of educational and pastoral needs. For children with special educational needs and disabilities, they offer tailored learning environments with small classes, dedicated learning assistants and specialist therapies that parents would otherwise have to battle to access through Surrey’s appalling state system—very often unsuccessfully. Beyond academic provisions, the schools foster a nurturing environment that prioritises wellbeing. That is particularly crucial for children from military families, who rely on their schools for stability and continuity of education amid the turbulence of frequent relocations and parental deployments overseas. For those children, the stability offered by the independent sector—particularly independent boarding schools—helps to ease the disruption of constant change, providing a reliable support system that nurtures mental health and lifts academic achievement. By offering structure, stability and familiarity, the schools play a crucial role in helping military children to thrive. Back in October, I stood in this Chamber to highlight the damaging impact that VAT rises would have on independent schools, and particularly on service families. I am pleased to say that the Government subsequently committed to increasing funding for the continuity of education allowance to offset rising private school fees. That adjustment is undoubtedly welcome, but does not adequately cover the full cost of the VAT increase. As the RAF Families Federation has pointed out, military families who receive continuity of education allowance for private schooling are required to provide and contribute a minimum of 10% towards tuition fees. With rising school fees that by necessity reflect inflationary pressures, business rates, national insurance increases and the new VAT imposition, that 10% minimum contribution is growing significantly in real terms for hard-working, committed service families. As a country, we ask our military families to make extraordinary sacrifices on our behalf. With the rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, it looks as though we will need to lean on those families even more in the future. Arguably, nowhere is that more apparent than in my constituency of Surrey Heath. The presence of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Army Training Centre Pirbright means that my constituency plays a vital role in supporting and accommodating service families. The six independent schools in Surrey Heath, and many others beyond, are essential pillars of support for those families, whose lives are often marked by uncertainty in the service of the state. I ask the Minister to look again at the continuity of education allowance and to ensure that it keeps up with rising school fees, while making sure that service families are not financially penalised for their continued commitment to the defence of the United Kingdom.