Officer Structure and Training (Review)

HC Deb 25 January 1956 vol 548 cc35-6W

Commander Maitland

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty to make a statement about the review which the Admiralty has been conducting on the officer structure and training in the Royal Navy.

Mr. Ward

As the House already knows, the Admiralty has made a comprehensive review of the officer structure and training in the Royal Navy. I would like to give the House the broad outlines of the new scheme which has resulted. Copies of the Fleet Order describing it in detail are available in the Library.

The chief change concerns the permanent officers of the present separate general lists in the executive, engineering, supply and secretariat and electrical branches. On 1st January, 1957, these officers will be combined into a single General List. This new List will be a tangible mark of the unity of purpose and equality of status among the officers in it.

The creation of the single General List will have several important consequences, some immediately, others in the long run. Starting in May, 1957, cadets, other than those entered as electrical specialists whose training requirements differ, will simply join as naval officers. They will not be entered for a particular branch. After three terms at Dartmouth they will be allocated to a specialisation, according to Service requirements, aptitude and individual preferences. The new General List officers will train together until the end of their first period in the Fleet. Up to the middle ranks, they will be employed mostly in their own specialisations, but there will be some interchange of appointments. Eventually, promotions to the rank of captain and above will be pooled.

All officers of the General List will have equal powers of command, except that the command of seagoing ships and aircraft must necessarily be reserved to those officers with the appropriate experience. Above the rank of lieutenant commander ships will be commanded by Post-List officers.

Officers in the General List will have a longer and better career as well as a more varied one. We aim to regulate the cadet entry so that, in the long term, three out of four lieutenant commanders can look for promotion to commander, though there can be no guarantee. The minimum age of compulsory retirement for General List officers will eventually be raised to 50.

As regards promotion from the lower deck, the upper yardmen scheme will continue. We shall, however, make fuller use of ratings promoted to commissioned rank after substantial service. With the reduced cadet entry, the officers on what is now called the Branch List will be increasingly important. It will be renamed the Special Duties List and the titles of ranks will be changed. The Special Duties List will contain a proportion of commanders' posts.

To meet any remaining deficiency of junior officers, caused by the reduced cadet entry, we shall introduce a Supplementary List for limited duties, initially for aircrew. These officers will be engaged for twelve years, with the option of withdrawal after eight. Some will be selected to a pensionable career.

The new scheme represents a long-term reform and will make little difference to the more senior officers at present serving. It will, however, offer improved prospects to young men now joining the Navy. We believe it will be supported by the Service as laying the foundation of an officer structure in keeping with the needs of the times and the large technical developments yet to come.