§ 47 and 48. Mr. Maxwell-Hyslopasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) under which entry headed Type/Class, in Appendix A to Command Paper No. 2270 of 1964, H.M.S. "Roberts" is included; and why there is no entry for the class of Monitor, in which category H.M.S. "Roberts" once fell;
(2) why it is proposed to scrap H.M.S. "Roberts".
§ Mr. HayShips approved for disposal by scrapping in the previous financial year and earlier are not shown in Annex A of Command Paper No. 2270 of 1964. The Monitors H.M. Ships "Roberts" and "Abercrombie" reached the end of their useful lives in 1954 and were approved for disposal by scrapping. They were then removed from the Strength of the Fleet, tables and the entry for Monitors lapsed. H.M.S. "Abercrombie" has already been scrapped, but H.M.S. "Roberts" has been used for a number of years as a fender for ships in the Reserve Ships Division at Plymouth. She is now no longer required for this purpose and will be disposed of shortly.