Don't make military families choose between career and child's education, Tories warn
The shadow defence secretary has urged the Government to exempt military personnel from a hike to VAT on private school fees.
It's already been announced the 20% VAT rate will be added to private school fees from the start of next year and the Government has said it will be formally announced in Wednesday's Budget.
James Cartlidge, a former defence procurement minister in the previous Conservative government, said this could mean military families may be forced to choose between a career in the Armed Forces or their child's education.
He used the example of the wife of an Army major, "who writes: the extra 20% will make things extremely difficult and we fear we'll have to choose between my husband's career or our daughter's education".
"Labour shouldn't be forcing thousands of military families to make so stark a choice when we cannot afford to lose such experienced personnel," he said.
"And when it costs almost £48,000 per head to train just one much less experienced replacement."
Military families say the plan will mean an increase, in some cases, by as much as £15,000-a-year – something they described as "unsustainable".
During last night's Remembrance debate in the Commons, Mr Cartlidge warned of an exodus of personnel from what he called an "already understaffed Armed Forces" – because of the increase in fees.
He also said he has received emails from many who are concerned.
The Government has previously indicated it could help service personnel and is said to be considering a range of options.
However, nothing has been announced so far.
It has been previously reported that the Defence Secretary was taking a "hard look" at a possible exemption for military families.
John Healey was said to be taking a "hard look" at a possible exemption for military families who face an increase in charges for sending their children to private schools.
There have been calls to either raise the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) military families receive or exempt them entirely from having to pay the extra 20%.
At the time, Mr Healey said he was "looking at it, the Army is looking carefully at it, and I recognise its importance and its impact on military families".
Equally, Hamish de-Bretton Gordon, former Commanding Officer of the UK's Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment and NATO's Rapid Reaction CBRN Battalion, also said the move would leave service personnel unable to focus on their job if they do not think their family is in a safe, stable environment at home.
"That instability, that moving around, not that the state schools are bad at all, but when you're moving every year or so, it's very destabilising," he said.
“I think people… think that boarding school is free for military families. It's not you know, you still pay 50 or 60%, which is a huge amount because soldiers and airmen and sailors don't earn a massive salary.
"The 20% on top will break the back," he added.
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