Tory ministers spend £91m on private school fees for top diplomats and military personnel

Exclusive: Labour questions subsidy of elite education for diplomats when local schools ‘cut to the bone’

Eton is known for its royal and political alumni (Getty)

Ministers have admitted spending more than £91m of taxpayers’ cash last year to subsidise fees for children of diplomats and military officers at some of the UK’s top private schools.

Official figures reveal the Ministry of Defence (MoD) spent £80.2m on independent school fees, including Eton, Harrow and Rugby in 2018-19, while the Foreign Office (FCO) spent £10.9m in British private schools over the same period.

Both Whitehall departments offer a “continuity of education allowance” to military and diplomatic staff who are based abroad, to ensure their children’s schooling is not disrupted.

Labour questioned how the government could continue justifying the subsidy of private education for well-paid staff when “local schools have been cut to the bone”.

Barnsley East MP Stephanie Peacock, who uncovered the data through parliamentary questions, said: “Parents in Barnsley will wonder why the government is handing over millions a year to Eton and Charterhouse to subsidise top diplomats on six-figure salaries, while our local schools have been cut to the bones since the Tories took power.

“I’ve always been a strong supporter of our forces, and I know from my own experience that soldiers and sailors in the front line deserve the same support as any other rank.

“It’s even worse because we know the prime minister has broken his election promise to tackle the tax breaks enjoyed by elite private schools, and the government continues to let them dodge business rates that state schools in Barnsley have to pay.”

Parents can apply for the boarding-school allowance for institutions both at home and abroad, however all of the MoD’s claims were for UK institutions.

The MoD’s total spend has hovered around £80m over the past four years, falling from £84.5m in 2014-15. Last year alone, the department spent £185,000 at Eton, £250,000 at Harrow and £156,000 at Rugby.

The majority of those benefiting held senior ranks such as lieutenant colonel, commander or wing commander, according to the figures.

The FCO spent more than £28m on private schooling last year, of which £10.9m was spent in the UK. Spending has fallen steadily on British schools from nearly £13m in 2014-15 but the burden has shifted abroad, rising from some £11.7m in the same year to £17.2m last year.

Last year, it paid out more than £295,000 at Eton, £163,000 at Winchester, £119,000 at Rugby, £97,000 at Charterhouse and £153,000 at Gordonstoun, where the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales were educated.

A third of those using the scheme held senior civil-service ranks, which can attract six-figure salaries.

Ministers faced pressure to remove the boarding school allowance from MoD budgets in 2011 but a review under the coalition government found it contributed to the effective running of the armed forces.

A government spokesperson said: “In order to represent UK interests across the world, members of the diplomatic and armed services can be asked to move frequently during their career, sometimes at very short notice.

“In these cases, we offer support to all personnel, regardless of position, to help maintain continuous education and provide stability for children.”