§ 6. Miss Fookesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what further steps he is taking to overcome the shortage of skilled jet pilots in the Royal Air Force.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Dr. John Gilbert)I refer the hon. Member to the answer that my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Air Force gave to the hon. Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter) on 27th February.
§ Miss FookesAs I do not remember what that was, will the right hon. Gentleman tell me? May I also suggest to him that dissatisfaction over pay may be a major factor in persuading jet pilots who are skilled and experienced that it is no longer worth while to remain in the Service?
§ Dr. GilbertI would not detain the House by reading all of my hon. Friend's wise remarks over again, but I certainly accept what the hon. Lady says—that pay is one of the factors. But other factors are involved, such as the question of training and the question of selection.
§ Mr. Michael McNair-WilsonWould the Minister of State care to say how large is this shortage? If it is about 100, and if it takes three years to train these pilots, how will the Royal Air Force maintain the right standard of readiness without these pilots?
§ Dr. GilbertThe hon. Gentleman puts his finger on the point—that is, the question of how long it will take to train people. But, as of now, the Royal Air 1306 Force's shortfall is less than 3 per cent. in terms of pilots and it is able to meet its full commitment. I hope that the other question to which the hon. Gentleman has referred will be taken care of, in part, by the next pay award.
§ Mr. ChurchillWill the Minister explain how it is that Armed Forces pay has fallen so very badly behind the civil sector that the operators of one-man double-deck buses in Greater London are being paid £130 a week whereas the captain of a strategic nuclear Vulcan bomber is paid less than £110 a week?
§ Mr. LitterickThe captain is not in a trade union, is he?
§ Dr. GilbertThe hon. Member for Stretford (Mr. Churchill) is perfectly well aware that at each stage of pay policy the Armed Forces have had the maximum amount available to them under that policy. Although the hon. Gentleman knows that, he continues to try to make cheap political capital out of the question on every possible occasion. He should come clean with the House and say whether he supports pay policy, with its unfortunate results, or not.