§ MR. ARNOLD-FORSTER (Croydon)To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the statement in the memorandum recently published by the Admiralty, that no alteration will be made in the proportion of officers and men serving afloat, refers to officers and men in fully commissioned sea-going ships; or whether the expression serving afloat is to be taken to include officers and men in ships with nucleus crews anchored in the naval ports or afloat in the basins.
(Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) The statement referred to by the right hon. Gentleman is intended to convey that the service at sea of officers and men in the whole will not be less than at present, and may be more. Such is the expectation of the Admiralty, but as the formation of the Home Fleet is still in course of development and will not be complete for some time, it is not possible to give any more definite reply at present.