I've got a Halfords professional socket set and it's awesome VFM. I've only broken a socket to date and that was because I was hammering it onto a damaged nut. I didn't try and get it replaced though, the hammer marks were a bit of a giveaway.

At least if you get him the socket set it's an excellent start to his tool collection and then he can just add as he goes along for whatever job he needs to do.