§ Mr. H. McLARENasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what is the percentage cost of constructive officers' salaries on design of warships to cost of ship, as compared with outside naval architects' fees for a design?
§ Mr. AMERYIn the case of the battle-cruiser design of 1921, the cost of constructive officers' salaries on the design amounted to £2,300; the total value of each of the ships which were to have been built to this design is over £7,000,000. There is no established practice regarding outside naval architects' fees, but if an outside man could be found who had the intimate knowledge of warship design as now demanded, with full knowledge of all the experience of the War, a close acquaintance with the requirements of the Board of Admiralty, of the Naval Staff, and of the Service afloat, it is certain that he would command in fees a very much larger percentage of the cost 1027W of any ship which he was asked to design than 03 per cent. of the value as given by the above figure.
§ Mr. H. McLARENasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how the pay of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors compares with naval engineers' pay, observing that both are trained together at Keyham, and that members of the corps are specially selected from cadets at Keyham?
§ Mr. AMERYAs regards the rates of pay of members of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors and naval engineer officers, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to his question regarding the pay of professional officers. Members of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors are not now recruited from the same source as naval engineer officers. The system of common recruitment ceased in 1911, when the scheme of common entry and training for executive, and engineer officers of the Royal Navy became effective. Since then, members of the Royal Corps have been recruited in the main from dockyard shipwright apprentices, a few direct entries as probationer assistant constructor having also been made. Having regard to the difference in the general conditions of service no useful deduction can be drawn from a comparison of the emoluments of naval officers with those of civilian officers.
§ Mr. H. McLARENasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty why constructor commanders are not borne on the staff of naval attaches when foreign constructors are borne on staffs of their legations?
§ Mr. AMERYIn view of the very urgent need of economy, the appointment of constructor officers to the staffs of naval attachés cannot at the present time be regarded as justified. The one officer who has been so appointed is being withdrawn.