§ Lord Harrisonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have any plans to alter the current notice periods for officers, Royal Naval ratings and Royal Naval other ranks applying to leave the Naval Service. [HL150]
§ Lord BurlisonA common notice period of 12 months will be introduced for officers, Royal Naval ratings and Royal Marines other ranks who wish to leave the Naval Service from 1 June 2000. This will represent a significant improvement to the terms of service of personnel in the Naval Service. Currently, officers who apply to retire voluntarily must wait for up to 15 months to leave the Service. RN ratings and RM other ranks are required to provide 18 months' notice.
As a consequence of this change, the minimum period of service on the trained strength by RN ratings and RM other ranks, following completion of initial training, will be reduced from four years to three and a half years from 1 June 2000. Officers, RN ratings and RM other ranks who submit notice applications on or before 31 May 2000 will remain subject to existing notice periods. However, personnel may apply on an individual basis for these to be adjusted so that no more than 12 months are served from 1 June 2000.