§ Mr. Wellbelovedasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the detailed review into submarine escape training has now been completed; and whether submarine escape training is to be resumed.
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§ Mr. JuddThis review, which took expert advice from a wide range of authorities in medical and other fields, has been completed. The findings have demonstrated that practical escape training greatly increases the prospects of safe ascents at sea.
This very careful study has, however, shown that we can eliminate the deepest (100 ft.) buoyant ascent in the tank and place an upper age limit of 35 on submarine trainees without significantly reducing the effectiveness of the training.
The review has satisfied us that the training routines give trainees an extremely high degree of protection and that the standards and vigilance of the training staff are of a very high order.
Royal Naval submarine escape training in the tank at HMS "Dolphin", Gos-port, which has been suspended since March this year, is to start again in the new year subject to the changes I have described. We shall continue to watch carefully all arrangements for the conduct of this training as well as relevant developments in all aspects of medical science and technology.