§ Mr. Callaghanasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he will make a statement on the postwar conditions of service for ratings of the permanent R.N.V.R.
Mr. DugdaleFor the present, recruiting for the postwar Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve will be confined to men who have served in the Navy during the war, have no other regular Reserve liability and fulfil the usual conditions of physical fitness, age, etc. Men in certain occupations cannot be accepted at present, but men who have served during the war on "hostilities only" agreements and are eligible for the Royal Fleet Reserve may enrol in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve if they prefer.
236WMen who served in the following branches will, in general, be eligible on, or shortly after, enrolment in these branches of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve to be considered for the substantive rating they held on release from Active Service:
Seamen, Communications, Writers, Stores, Engine-room, Electrical, Artisans, Ordnance.
Men who served in other branches than the foregoing, can only be enrolled if they transfer to one of these branches, when they will be given such rating as is appropriate to their qualifications.
Ratings who are entered on List I of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve will be able to qualify for an annual bounty of £5, and to supplement this to a maximum of £3 a year depending on their rating and the number of extra drills they attend. In addition, they will be eligible for a training expenses allowance on occasions when they attend for drills of two hours or more at rates varying from 9d. to 1s. 3d. an hour, within a daily maximum of 4s. 6d. and 7s. 6d. according to rating. Travelling expenses at 1½d. a mile are also allowed between home and drill headquarters for journeys of a mile or more.
Training with the Fleet will normally be for a period of 14 days annually, but ratings who join before 1st November, 1947, will not be required to carry out more than 28 days' training with the Fleet during their first engagement of five years. Each division, except for Solent, will have a motor minesweeper attached to it as a sea-going tender for weekend and summer training. The Solent will have motor launches attached for coastal force sea-going training.
With the very large Reserve Fleet now in existence, the need for skilled and efficient reserves is vital, and the Admiralty hope that there will be a large response to this call for volunteers for the permanent Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.