UK spent £13m on private schooling for diplomats’ children

The Foreign Office spent £13.8m connected sending 514 diplomats' children to backstage schools successful the UK successful 2022/23.

It besides allocated £24.1m to nonstop 1,188 children to schools overseas.

This is up from £10.5m spent connected UK schools and £21.4m spent connected overseas schools successful the erstwhile year.

A authorities spokesperson said the summation reflects the inclusion of bequest International Development section and Foreign Office staff.

The 2 departments - which had antithetic presumption and conditions for unit - were merged successful 2020.

There is simply a long-standing argumentation to screen fees for children of diplomats who whitethorn beryllium posted overseas astatine abbreviated notice, oregon instrumentality their children with them to countries wherever determination is nary suitable escaped English connection based schooling.

There are immoderate countries wherever the Foreign Office does not let unit to instrumentality their children for wellness oregon information reasons.

Foreign Office curate David Rutley said without the allowance the authorities "would beryllium restricting definite diplomatic roles for individuals without families, narrowing opportunities to person a palmy vocation successful our diplomatic service."

Under the strategy - called the Continuity of Education Allowance - elder Foreign Office unit tin use to person up to 90% of their children's schoolhouse fees paid by the payer if they lend the remaining 10% themselves.

In its existent form, the allowance dates backmost to 1996.

In 2022/3 the maximum magnitude diplomats could assertion was a maximum of £12,471 per word for a elder boarding schoolhouse fee, oregon £8,730 per word for a elder time schoolhouse fee.

The CEO ceiling was accrued by 6.27% for the 2022/3 world twelvemonth successful enactment with accrued boarding schoolhouse fees.

The figures claimed this twelvemonth see £143,232 spent connected sending children to Winchester College, £246,720 astatine Eton, £721,965 astatine Sevenoaks School and £487,449 astatine Oundle School.

An Foreign Office spokesperson said: "Our unit are often asked to determination often during their career, sometimes astatine precise abbreviated notice, which is wherefore it has been the argumentation of successive governments to enactment eligible families truthful that their children's acquisition is disrupted arsenic small arsenic possible.

"There are wide caps connected compensation offered to staff. The summation successful our spending reflects the inclusion of bequest DFID unit and bequest FCO unit successful a azygous FCDO fig from this twelvemonth and a emergence successful boarding schoolhouse fees."

From 2009-2022, the magnitude allocated has varied from £10.5m to £15.4m.