§ Mr. Maginnisasked the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has for sending commissioned officers in the Royal Air Force who were formerly flight cadets at the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell, to a university to read for an arts degree in order to bring the policy in line with that now applying to former cadets at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesNone. The Royal Air Force needs graduate officers but, once flying training has been completed, it is preferable both from the point of 311W view of the individual and of the Air Force to avoid prolonged interruption of flying. The R.A.F. now recruits graduate entrants after they have completed their university studies and, through the University Cadetship Scheme introduced in 1963, sends suitable candidates to study at universities before they receive their Air Force training.
§ Mr. Maginnisasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the estimated cost of the Cranwell University of the Air Scheme which began in 1950–60; how many flight cadets at the Royal Air Force College successfully completed an external Bachelor of Arts degree from London University under the scheme; what percentage success ratio this represented; and what is now his policy in regard to training in the humanities at the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThe Cranwell University of the Air Scheme which began in 1959 has now been superseded. The information required to provide an estimate of the cost is no longer available. During the currency of the Scheme, 19 flight cadets at Cranwell studied for an external B.A. degree from the University of London; 16 were successful—a success ratio of 84.2 per cent. The whole question of academic training of non-technical cadets at Cranwell is now under review.