§ 7 and 8. Mr. Gowerasked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty (1) which of Her Majesty's ships will visit Welsh ports this year; and if he will give particulars of the ships and their complements;
(2) which of Her Majesty's ships will visit the port of Barry this year; on what dates such visits are proposed; and if he will give particulars of the ships and their complements.
§ Mr. HayOn present plans, and subject to overriding operational commitments, it is intended that 13 of Her Majesty's Ships will visit Welsh ports this year. I will circulate the names of the ships and their complements in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
Apart from the fact that Her Majesty's Ship "Urchin" will be visiting Port Talbot from 17th–20th of this month, I regret that I am unable at present to say which other ports will be visited and whether Barry will be included. The local authorities concerned have not yet been consulted.
§ Mr. GowerWill my hon. Friend take note that in one or two previous years Barry has been omitted for some reason and that I hope that that can be rectified this year, as the people of the town are most anxious that a ship should visit the port?
§ Mr. ReynoldsThe hon. Gentleman will remember that when I complained about the small number of ships in the Mediterranean he asked me whom we were going to fight. Whom are we going to fight in the Welsh ports? I realise, of course, that these visits are welcome by both English and Welsh ports. Will the hon. Gentleman publish a full list of visits, not only to Welsh ports but to other ports in the United Kingdom, for the next 12 months?
§ Mr. HayThe first part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question was answered by the second. I will consider the third.
§ Mr. CallaghanIs the hon. Gentleman aware that although we are always glad to see R.N. ships in Welsh ports, we would prefer to have some more naval ships for refitting purposes rather than ceremonial visits?
§ Mr. HayBut the hon. Gentleman will realise that we already have some very big naval dockyards where most of our refitting work is done.
§ The following is the information:
| Name and Type of Ship | Complement | |
| Officers | Ratings | |
| HARDY OR RUSSEL (Frigate). | 7 | 124 |
| 2 Ships of Dartmouth Training Squadron (Frigates). | About 15 | About 200 |
| URCHIN (Frigate) | 7 | 83 |
| RHYL (Frigate) | 8 | 195 |
| WAKEFUL (Frigate) | 7 | 136 |
| RAMPART (Tank Landing Craft). | 3 | 33 |
| AUROCHS (Submarine) | 5 | 58 |
| TIPTOE (Submarine) | 6 | 59 |
| ODIN (Submarine) | 6 | 62 |
| TRUNCHEON (Submarine) | 6 | 59 |
| ALARIC (Submarine) | 5 | 57 |
| ASTUTE (Submarine) | 5 | 57 |