§ 21. Major Sir B. FALLEasked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he can give the date and effect of any Order in Council or regulation which differentiates the position of the pensioned officer and the lower deck pensioner when called up for service; and if he can give any reason why the men who completed time for pension after the outbreak of War were specially favoured as against their officers by the decision of the War Cabinet Committee in September, 1917?
§ Sir J. CRAIGAs I informed my hon. and gallant Friend on the 17th instant, the authority for payment of full pay and pension to pensioned Naval ratings called up for service is Section 16 of the Naval Volunteers Act, 1853. The authority for the remuneration of retired officers similarly called up for service is an Order in Council dated the 5th March, 1910, under which they are entitled to the full pay of their rank and a bonus of 25 per cent. thereon in lieu of counting such further service for increase of retired pay. As my hon. and gallant Friend is aware, the conditions of service of officers and men have always differed widely. In particular, officers during periods of unemployment, have been liable to half pay, whereas men were never so. Until 1870, when retired pay scales were introduced, all officers during unemployment were left on half pay whether it was intended to 412 employ them further or not. There has never been any Act or Order in Council under which an officer can draw half or retired pay concurrently with his full pay during employment. As regards the second part of the question the effect of the decision of the War Cabinet Committee in September, 1917, was to place men who completed time for pension, as from the date of completing time, in precisely the same position as pensioner ratings called up. Similarly, as the result of a proposal by the Officers' Pay Committee in 1919, all officers who reached the age for compulsory retirement during the War have been given the option of being treated, as from the date of reaching that age, precisely as retired officers called up whenever they deem it to their advantage to receive the bonus of 25 per cent. on their full pay in lieu of counting the further service for increase of retired pay.