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The MoD allocates around £1m each year to place students to independent educational institutions in northern Wales because "public schools provide various classes in the Welsh tongue".

It paid £1,019,000 in day school allowance in the northern region for 83 children of military families in the current academic year, and £942,000 for seventy-nine students in 2023-2024 under a longstanding policy.

A spokesperson said "service children can face regular relocations" and the allowance "aims to reduce disruption to their education".

The Welsh party called it a "total misuse of funds" and "a disrespect to our language" while the Tory party argued parents should be able to select the medium in which their kids are educated.

The figures were acquired following a inquiry under the public records law.

The online portal of RAF Valley on Anglesey tells its personnel, "if you live and serve in northern Wales, where public schools provide some or all classes in the Welsh tongue, you can opt to enroll your kids to an English-medium private institution".

"As long as you are accompanied by your family at your posting, you can use this benefit to pay for the expense of school charges, field study trips/residential learning programs and regular commuting."

An MoD spokesperson explained, "the aim of the educational stipend in the northern region (DSA-NW) is to assist military households posted to the region, where Welsh is the primary medium of public schooling".

"Since relocation is a part of military career, service children can face frequent moves and from this allowance aims to lessen interference to their education."

"The MoD acknowledges the contributions service personnel, and their families undertake, and through the stipend assists with the expenses of independent day schooling provided in English."

'In Areas With Bilingual or Non-English Instruction'

The benefit covers school costs up to a limit of £22,755 a year, seven thousand five hundred eighty-five pounds each semester, and is available to personnel living in the counties of Conwy, the area, the locality, Anglesey or Flintshire and working in one of the following establishments:

• The military base, the island
• The combined forces alpine training facility, Anglesey
• Joint Services Mountain Training Wing, the town
• The university military training program (UOTC), Bangor detachment, Caernarfon

The eligible private schools are Treffos school, the village, the island; Rydal Penrhos Prep school in the town; St Gerard's school, the city and St David's College, Llandudno.

The applicable military policy document states that "disbursement of the allowance is restricted to those regions where instruction in the state sector is on a dual-language or non-English foundation".

Personnel serving in other locations in the multiple services of the armed forces - the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force - can apply for a educational continuity benefit which helps with boarding and/or school charges up to a maximum rate, with a minimum parental contribution of 10% for each eligible child.

Welsh Conservative Senedd member Natasha Asghar commented "members of the UK military move around the nation and the globe, and the ministry has always sought to guarantee that their children have access to consistency in schooling".

"While we fully support Welsh-medium education throughout the country, it's important to recognize there are dual recognized tongues in our nation, the English tongue and Welsh, and local councils and education authorities should accommodate both."

"Families should always have the option to select the medium in which their children are instructed."

Plaid Cymru's education spokesperson the assembly member stated "not only is this a total misuse of funding, it is an insult to our language".

"I cannot think of any justifiable cause to be allocating these funds every year, on blocking young people residing in the country from having the chance to learn the Welsh language."

"Bilingualism enriches experience and supports the growth of youth, but the British administration is clearly blind to this."

"This money is a perfect example of the attitude of the Westminster parties regarding Wales and the Welsh language - namely unawareness and disrespect."