§ 3. Mr. E. Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for Air how many officers are at present serving in the Education Branch of the Royal Air Force; and how many of them are of air rank.
§ The Secretary of State for Air (Mr. Hugh Fraser)Seven hundred and twenty-five, of whom three hold air rank.
§ Mr. JohnsonIs my right hon. Friend aware that an advertisement appeared earlier this year in the Daily Telegraph inviting qualified teachers to join the Education Branch of the Royal Air Force, holding out as an inducement the prospect of advancement to air rank? Does he not feel, in view of the figures he has just given me, that there is some risk of their having been misled, in the same way that officers were misled when they were told that their prospects of promotion from squadron leader to wing commander were at least 50–50?
§ Mr. FraserI will certainly look at this point. On the whole, I think that there are pretty good promotion prospects in this branch. In fact, it is rather well off in officers of air rank, group captains and wing commanders. There is always the possibility of transferring at the age of 38 back to the civil education service and enjoying a pension from the Air Force of something over £400 a year.