§ Dr. David Owenasked the Minister of State for Defence (1) whether, in view of the criticism of the Royal Dockyards in the Mallabar Report that they were not 444W clearly identifiable as civilian establishments operating within a civilian command because of the high proportion of naval officers occupying professional management positions, he intends to continue appointing ex-naval officers to the post of Chief Executive of the Dockyards, general manager of the individual dockyards, or other top management posts;
(2) in view of the Mallabar Report's conclusion that the Ministry of Defence took a sound decision in 1969 when they created a civilian post for a chief executive of the Dockyards, what consideration was given when appointing the new chief executive last week to appointing a civilian industrialist from outside industry or a civilian from within the existing dockyard management.
§ Mr. Kirk:The intention is to fill the post of Chief Executive, Royal Dockyards, and other senior posts in dockyard management with the best men available, and former naval officers will be considered together with other candidates if they have suitable qualifications. The recently announced appointment of an ex-naval officer as chief executive was taken after full consideration of other available candidates from all sources, and is in no way inconsistent with the recommendations of the Mallabar Committee.