§ 28. Mr. Willisasked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what is the estimated extent of the shortages of technically skilled manpower in Her Majesty's ships at present in commission; and when it is expected these will be made good.
§ Mr. HayCurrent shortages of skilled men in Her Majesty's ships in commission is confined to the weapons, electrical and radio departments. Complements in these departments have been temporarily reduced. As to the second part of the Question, my predecessor wrote to the hon. Gentleman after the Navy Estimates debate listing measures taken to deal with the shortages and said that the full effects would not be achieved in the fleet for some time. Meanwhile, our recruiting of new entries is going well.
§ Mr. WillisMay I express my thanks for the letter? Could the hon. Gentleman say whether the position has improved over what it was a year ago when about nine ships were without their full complement and in another 46 ships junior ratings were doing the jobs of senior ratings?
§ Mr. HayAs I have been in this office for so short a time, I should like notice before I could answer that supplementary question, but I do not think that the situation can be anything like as bad as the hon. Gentleman says it was a year ago, because I should have been told about it if it were so.