After the Chancellor delivered the Budget Speech to Parliament yesterday, the MOD announced:
‘…this VAT policy change is likely to result in increased private school fees which, for families claiming the CEA, will result in an increase in the amount they will have to pay as their minimum contribution.
The MOD and Ministers recognise the significant sacrifices that our military families make in serving our nation. We continue to support CEA as the means of mitigating the disruption to Service children’s education caused by Service commitments involving frequent moves of the family home. That is why to protect the integrity of the allowance the Secretary of State has directed that the cap on the current rates is lifted, and CEA rates are recalculated, in recognition of the likely increase in school fees that will occur in January 2025.’
A letter is now being sent out by the Pay Colonel to every RAF CEA claimant to this effect.
RAF Families Federation Director Maria Lyle says:
‘The announcement in the budget that: ‘the MOD will increase the funding allocated to the Continuity of Education Allowance to account for the impact of any private school fee increases on the proportion of fees covered by the CEA’ is an improvement on the initial uncertainty faced by families. We therefore welcome this step, however there are issues that still exist:
- It is likely that the MOD will be funding this difference, which does eat into any departmental budget rise announced.
- Whilst the CEA rates are increasing to take account of a rise in school fees, the parental contribution will also need to increase – so there is still some impact/change as a result.
- RAF families that use boarding school because of military requirements (i.e. long uncertain hours/deployments) but are not able to claim CEA due to not meeting mobility requirements will still be left paying a 20% increase.”
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