§ Mr. Peter Lloydasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is satisfied with the present arrangements for conducting maritime radio operators' examinations, and with the level of fees charged to candidates for these examinations.
§ Mr. WhitelawThese examinations are carried out by British Telecom as agent for the Home Office, and the knowledge and experience which the British Telecom staff concerned bring to this task are greatly appreciated. I am aware, however, of growing concern about the level of fees which we are obliged to charge to candidates in order to recover the costs of administering the examinations. There is also a need to ensure that the examination system keeps pace with the changing demands likely to be placed on marine radio operators in the coming years. A consultation group has therefore been established with a wide membership drawn from persons and organisations concerned with the training and employment of marine radio operators, to advise the Home Office on the future arrangements for these examinations.
As a first step however I have accepted an offer from the Royal Yachting Association to assume the responsibility for administering on our behalf one class of examination—that for the restricted (VHF-Only) certificate in radiotelephony. The change will take effect on 1 April 1983, and from that date the fee for the examination will be reduced to £13 from its present level of £20. The administration of the examination will be overseen by a supervisory committee in which all the interested sections of the maritime community will be represented, and whose purpose will be to ensure that the new arrangements operate in the best interests of all maritime users.