§ Mr. Parkerasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that, for the past 30 years, practically every ex-cadet accountant officer of the requisite seniority has been promoted to paymaster-commander, whereas in the executive branch only about 45 per cent. of the requisite seniority reach commander's rank; whether ratings of the branch which appears to require the lower standard of officer have been partly recruited b y open competition between the ages of 18 and 23, and none of them have yet been promoted to paymaster-commander, whereas many recruits in the other branch have been entered at the age of 15½without competitive examination, mostly as the result of economic pressure, and have reached commander's rank and above, including one to flag rank; and whether he will take steps to remove this injustice?
Mr. AlexanderI would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave him on 13th May to a similar Question. There is nothing which I could usefully add to that reply.