§ 85. Mr. Willeyasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty to what extent his Department's yardcraft vessels in Hong Kong will, in future, be officered by locally entered staffs; and whether these locally entered staffs will be included in or excluded from the published total of civil servants employed in his Department.
§ Mr. GalbraithOur present policy in Dockyards abroad is to employ local entrants on work for which they are considered suitable, and no change in this policy is contemplated. There are at present fourteen United Kingdom-based yardcraft officers of various grades in Hong Kong, and it is intended to replace, as soon as practicable, two mates and one first class engineer by locally-entered grades, subject to suitable candidates for the posts being available.
The numbers of locally entered staff serving abroad are included in the numbers shown in the Navy Estimates, but excluded from the quarterly White Paper "Staff employed in Government Departments" which relates to United Kingdom-based staff only.
188W
§ 86. Mr. Willeyasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what are the qualifications required of the United Kingdom based officers employed in his Department's yardcraft vessels in Hong Kong; and what qualifications will be required of the locally entered staffs who replace them.
§ Mr. GalbraithThe qualifications of United Kingdom-based yard craft officers are laid down in Admiralty Fleet Order No. 884/56, a copy of which the hon. Member will find in the Library. These officers may be required to serve anywhere in the world, including, Hong Kong. The locally entered staff who will replace some of these officers at Hong Kong will be required to satisfy the Dockyard Authorities that they are up to an acceptable standard, as a result of an interview and test.
§ 87. Mr. Willeyasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what are the salaries, exclusive of foreign service allowances, paid to the United Kingdom based officers employed in his Department's yardcraft vessels in Hong Kong; and what will be the salaries paid to the locally entered staffs who replace them.
§ Mr. GalbraithThe salaries of United Kingdom-based officers employed in Admiralty yardcraft vessels in Hong Kong, exclusive of foreign service allowances, range from a minimum of £635 a year for a mate of yard craft to a maximum of £925 a year for a master (higher scale). Salaries for the locally-entered staffs have not yet been fixed, but will be determined by means of a review of the wages or salaries in force for comparable work under the generality of other local good employers.