§ MR. BOWERMANTo ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether any difficulty is experienced in obtaining candidates for engine-room artificers; how many of them are expected to leave the naval service on pension during the present financial year, and what proportion of this number it is proposed to obtain from engineering shops in the country; and what is the percentage of failures among those now presenting themselves for entry.
(Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) No difficulty has been experienced in obtaining candidates. Taking the average of the last seven years, it is anticipated that about thirty engine-room artificers will complete time for pension during the present year. It is proposed to obtain about 30 per cent. of the number of entries required for the year from engineering shops in the country. The percentage of failures among candidates last year was twenty-six.