§ Mr. HORE-BELISHAasked the First Lord of the Admiralty the percentage of 26W warrant officers allowed to engine room, electrical, and ordnance artificers, respectively, and also the actual numbers of the same?
§ Lieut.-Colonel HEADLAMThe number of warrant officers and officers promoted therefrom in the branches named is not dependent upon the numbers of artificers borne but is governed by the number of appointments for which officers of these branches are required. In the case of the electrical branch, a maximum establishment of 60, excluding officers lent to Dominion Navies, is laid down, and in the case of the ordnance branch, a maximum establishment of 19 will eventually be worked to, though at present there is a surplus over this number. No separate establishment for warrant engineers and officers promoted therefrom exists.
The numbers at present borne are:
— (a) Warrant Officers and Officers promoted therefrom. (b) Total numbers (Warrant Officers, Officers promoted therefrom and men), excluding Apprentices. Percentage of (a) to (b). Engineer 499* 3,052 13.2 Electrical 61 1,052 5.8 Ordnance 31 684 4.5 * In addition to this number, there are 12 Engineer Lieutenant-Commanders now on the list who were specially promoted to Engineer Lieutenant from Warrant rank during the War.