§ Brigadier Clarkeasked the First Lord of the Admiralty (1) what representations he has had regarding the provision of beer on Her Majesty's ships;
(2) why beer has not been made available to naval personnel on sea-going ships.
§ Mr. DigbyFor some time commanders-in-chief have had discretion to authorise the provision of beer on exceptional occasions, for example when ships are required to operate for long periods out of reach of ports. The Admiralty has been considering how far this might be extended and has received reports from commanders-in-chief. The 315W difficulty in making supply freely available at all times is that storage on board of the heavy weights and bulk involved would be quite impracticable; but it has been decided that some improvement can now be made.
Commanders-in-Chief have, therefore, been granted discretion to authorise supply wherever this may be found practicable so long as there is not such an encroachment on weight and space as to hamper the operational efficiency of ships.
Whilst the circumstances in which supply will be found possible will vary between commands and between ships, it will, in general, not be practicable to arrange it during periods at sea except when ships are on specially arduous duty; nor will beer be supplied when ships are alongside within easy reach of shore amenities. The new arrangements will, however, permit more liberal provision than hitherto.