§ 2.38 p.m.
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (THE EARL OF SELKIRK)My Lords, may I, with your Lordships' permission, make a statement about naval reserves? A careful review has been carried out of the Naval Volunteer Reserves. The review has shown that there continues to be a clear need for volunteer reservists, but that the structure most suited to our needs is a single unified Reserve. It has accordingly been decided to form one Reserve, which will carry the title instituted by the Act of 1859, the Royal Naval Reserve. The combination of the existing Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, with their separate traditions and experience, will give added strength to the Navy's volunteer reservists and make them all one company, with one aim. It will also enable the fullest use to be made of the training facilities and of the sea experience available in both the existing Reserve's. It will simplify administration and will make the position of the Reserves more easily understood by the Service and the public.
The aim of the new unified Reserve will be to train reservists to be competent to take up their allotted and specific tasks immediately on mobilisation. With this in mind they will be trained more thoroughly but in a rather more limited field, which will allow economies to be made particularly at the sea training centres. This involves the reduction of facilities in all Divisions, the most serious of which is at Hull, where the Sea Training Centre will be reduced to a centre solely for training communication ratings. The Admiralty have reached this particular decision with very real regret and wish to record their recognition of the services rendered by the personnel of the Humber Division.
All officers and men of the Divisions, including Humber, will be invited to join the new Reserve. The training of ratings will in general involve attendance at the Sea Training Centres on week nights as well as periods of continuous training at sea. Ratings who cannot carry out the new training obligations 731 can still transfer to the new Reserve, but will not normally be required for training. Training of reservists belonging to the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleet remains unaffected. There will be no Change in the basis of reserve training of Wrens. This unified Reserve will continue to offer wide opportunities for sea training with the knowledge that such training will constitute a vital support for the Royal Navy in serious emergency.
§ 2.41 p.m.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, I am obliged to the noble Earl the First Lord of the Admiralty for giving us this information. I must say that it requires a good deal of careful study, and perhaps we shall have to give that on another occasion before we can pass a real and final judgment upon it. Having listened carefully to this statement, I think the principal motive behind it is not the future of the Reserves and their real value to the Service, but a matter of economy. From a statement of this kind we have no idea as to the maximum reserves aimed at, either among those who come from the Mercantile Marine or among those from the Volunteer Reserve; but there is one principle which surely ought to be observed by a Government which is rapidly demobilising its cadres of Regular Forces. We are gradually reducing our Forces everywhere, and in such circumstances, instead of cutting volunteers we ought to be establishing them in far greater numbers and bringing them into proper training. As I see it, that is the wise way. I will come bank to this subject at a later date.
§ LORD TREFGARNEMy Lords, I am quite sure that noble Lords will have heard the rather apologetic note in the statement made by the First Lord of the Admiralty. While apologising for putting to him a general question, may I ask whether consideration was first given to the possibility of achieving within the Admiralty itself the economies which will be affected by this move?
§ THE EARL OF SELKIRKMy Lords, may I thank the noble Viscount for what he has said? I agree that it is a complicated subject, and one of the advantages of the proposal of Her Majesty's Government is that it should make the structure of the Reserves simpler. The noble Viscount will be fully aware that the present structure is rather complicated and it is felt that unification of the Reserves will make that structure a great deal simpler. There will be a saving in money, though not an enormous amount. The real purpose, however, is to ensure that our resources are available in the most useful form. The noble Viscount will doubtless be aware that, with the termination of National Service, some reorganisation of the Reserves would inevitably be necessary, and this is a redeployment of our Reserves in a manner which makes them most useful having regard to the resources that we have available. That is the purpose that we have in mind—so that our Reserves may be made as readily available as they can be.
With regard to what was said by the noble Lord, Lord Trefgarne, I would only say that the purpose is to make our Reserves more valuable; and while I am fully aware that economies should be effected over other fields the purpose of this proposal is not entirely a matter of economy. It is largely to ensure that those men who are serving know they are serving the most useful purpose.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, it would be wrong to attempt to debate this statement, but would the noble Earl remember that we are to have a debate on a Motion on Defence in January? As it is now only December 4, could the noble Earl lay a White Paper giving more details of this proposal before that date and also give the actual numbers which are contemplated after this unification?
§ THE EARL OF SELKIRKMy Lords, I should like to consider that point, if I may.