§ Mr. Wallasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the transfer of Malta Dockyard to a commercial firm will take place.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydSince Her Majesty's Government announced their decision last July that the Malta Dockyard should be converted to a commercial yard and transferred to a commercial ship repairing firm, Messrs. C. H. Bailey of South Wales, the firm referred to in that announcement have, in consultation with Her Majesty's Government, made considerable progress with their plans for the take-over. Her Majesty's Government have agreed that, subject to the completion of a satisfactory agreement, the Maltese Company which is to be set up by the firm should assume full responsibility for the dockyard not later than 30th March, 1959. The exact date of transfer, which will be announced in due course, may be a month or more earlier than this if all the necessary preparations can be completed in time.
1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year Total — Full time Sandwich Total Full time Sandwich Total Full time Sandwich Total Full time Sandwich Total Full time Sandwich Total November, 1957 49 477 526 45 246 291 — 108 108 — 40 40 94 871 965 November, 1958 89 833 922 40 514 554 12 269 281 — 29 29 141 1,645 1,786 The figures for 1957 and 1958 are not exactly comparable. In November, 1957, one college based its returns on the academic year so that some students whose courses had begun in January were shown as being in their second year. The 1958 returns all relate to years of training, irrespective of the date on which the course began.