§ 40. Commander Maitlandasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether lifebelts or some similar device for individual support in the water are available for each member of the ships' companies in all of His Majesty's ships; and whether he can give an assurance that ample reserves are available to cover any sudden expansion of His Majesty's Navy and for issue to merchant seamen in an emergency.
§ Mr. W. EdwardsStocks of lifebelts for instructional purposes and use in boats are carried in all His Majesty's ships; and a personal issue is made for ships employed in mine clearance operations, or when necessary for special operational reasons. The stocks maintained by the Admiralty at home and abroad are sufficient for an issue to be made when necessary to each member of the ship's company of all His Majesty's ships, and to cover any sudden expansion of the Royal Navy. The provision of lifebelts for the Merchant Navy is not the responsibility of the Admiralty.
§ Commander MaitlandIs the hon. Gentleman aware that thousands of officers and men in the Royal Navy were killed at the beginning of the last war and the 1914 war because these lifebelts were not in the ships at the outbreak of war; and will he therefore consider whether it would not be advisable always to have personal lifesaving apparatus in the ships during peacetime?
§ Mr. EdwardsIt has never happened before as, no doubt, the hon. and gallant Gentleman knows, but it is certainly a matter well worth considering. Even if we cannot supply ships' companies with one lifebelt each, as happens in war, I feel certain that consideration will be given to the possibility of seeing that, should an emergency arise at any time, the lifebelts will be available for the ships.