§ Mr. Russellasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of ratings who applied to re-engage in the Royal Navy between the announcement of the recent pay increases and 31st December, 1950; the number actually accepted for such re-engagement; and what were the figures for the corresponding period of 1949.
§ Mr. CallaghanThe number of R.N. ratings and R.M. other ranks who re-engaged for pension in the four months September to December, 1950, was 488. The figure for the corresponding period in 1949 was 363. No information is available as to the number who applied but were refused re-engagement.
Men may re-engage at any time within two years of the completion of their first continuous service engagement and there is some evidence that the new pay code 21W and re-engagement bounty have led to earlier re-engagement than before. On the other hand, men being retained may postpone re-engaging until eventually released. In view of this and the fact that larger groups of men are completing their first 12 years service at the present time than was the case a year ago, the number of re-engagements quoted are not directly comparable.