§ 68 and 69. Mr. Iremongerasked the First Lord of the Admiralty (1) the normal time to elapse between the discharge of a National Service rating and the despatch to him of his original Form S459; and why there has been a delay of two months in the case of C/JX900226 Able Seaman P. Skingsley;
(2) the normal time to elapse between the discharge of a National Service rating and the adjustment of his back pay and final settlement, including pay to cover advancement to higher rate confirmed after discharge; and why there has been a delay of six months in the case of C/JX900226 Able Seaman P. Skingsley.
§ Mr. J. P. L. ThomasA National Service rating usually gets his final balance of pay about half-way through his release leave, and his service certificate just before his final discharge.
Able Seaman Skingsley received his pay settlement as ordinary seaman during his release leave but he was in the unusual position of having spent part of his service as a coder and final settlement was delayed while a decision was sought on whether his time as coder could be counted in assessing his eligibility for advancement to able seaman. I very much regret this delay which was quite exceptional.