§ Lord CHARLES BERESFORDasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether a Royal Fleet Reserve man received £50 gratuity for ten years' service in the Reserve, making twenty years' service altogether in the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Reserve; whether he was aware that men who were invalided from the Royal Fleet Reserve received no gratuity; and whether he could see his 2704 way to amend the regulations so that men invalided might receive gratuities at the rate of £5 for every year they served in the Royal Fleet Reserve?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the ADMIRALTY (Dr. Macnamara)Twenty years' combined service in the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Reserve (Class B) is one of the conditions for the award of the gratuity of £50, but the proportion of this period to be spent in the Reserve is not fixed at ten or any particular number of years. Provision is made in the regulations for the award of gratuities to men of Class B who are invalided from the Reserve or refused re-enrolment on medical grounds if they are wholly unable, or able in a small degree only, to contribute to their own support, and if their incapacity is not due to their own misconduct. The suggestion in the last part of the question cannot be adopted, as in some cases it would involve payment of a larger gratuity than the maximum of £50, membership of the Reserve not being restricted to a period of ten years.