§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he has taken to arrest the decline in the number of cadets entering the British Merchant Navy.
§ Mr. PortilloA scheme for providing financial assistance towards the costs of training future Merchant Navy officers has been set up under the powers in section 26 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1988.
This scheme is beginning to show encouraging results and the cadet intake at colleges has almost doubled to 279 in the current academic year.
§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British seamen are in the Merchant Navy at the present time.
§ Mr. PortilloAt 31 December 1988 the numbers of seafarers registered with the Merchant Navy establishment was 22,629.