57. Mr. John Hallasked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many officers and ratings have been released from the Admiralty as a result of the recent increase in civil staff.
§ The First Lord of the Admiralty (Mr. J. P. L. Thomas)On 7th April I told my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Renton) that the Admiralty would need to expand its total numbers to maintain the pace of research and development and to reap the benefit of recent technical progress. The increase in civil staff to which my hon. Friend now refers was due mainly to the recruitment of scientists, technicians, and draughtsmen for that purpose. These grades are not, in general, interchangeable with naval personnel. Nevertheless, during the quarter four posts held by naval officers have been filled by civilians and the number of civilians employed in the Admiralty itself has decreased.