§ Mr. HORE-BELISHAasked the First Lord of the Admiralty the average cost of training men and boys of the seamen, signalmen, telegraphist and stoker branches from the time of joining the Royal Navy until they are accepted as efficient ratings from the naval point of view?
Mr. DAVIDSONThe average cost of training boys until they are fit to be drafted to His Majesty's ships at sea based on the cost of the Shotley training establishment is £58 for the seaman class and £98 for the signal and telegraphist classes, exclusive of the pay, clothing and victualling of the boys. The training is continued after the boys join the ships, but the boys are available as part of the complement and to make a satisfactory division between the additional cost due to the training and the ordinary running expenses of the ships would be practically impossible. The training of recruits for the stoker branch is carried out at Royal Naval barracks, and it is not possible to ascertain the proportion of the cost of those establishments attributable to training this particular class except at an expenditure of 427W time and labour, altogether disproportionate to the value of the results obtainable.