§ 62. Mr. HORE-BELISHAasked the First Lord of the Admiralty when the one-in-eight rule was established in His Majesty's dockyards; what was the pre- 35 vious rule; how long it operated; and for what reason it was altered?
§ Mr. G. HALLThe answer to the first part of the question is 24th February, 1922. The previous rule was that one vacancy in two occurring on the Established List should be filled. It operated from the 2nd February, 1921. The reason for restricting the transfer of men from the Hired to the Established List was that owing to the large additions to the Established List made during the War and the heavy discharges (mainly from the Hired List) since the War, the proportion of Established men to the total numbers employed had become abnormally high.
§ Mr. HORE-BELISHADoes not my hon. Friend think, now that the Treaty is signed, that one man should be established for every two vacancies at least?
§ Mr. HALLThe hon. Member must give us some little credit for having reviewed this matter within the last month. The position is somewhat improved from what it was previously.