HC Deb 12 April 2000 vol 348 cc174-5W
Mr. Prosser

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many British ratings were employed in the UK Merchant Fleet in each of the last five years. [118355]

Mr. Hill

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency obtains data on UK seafarers from the Chamber of Shipping. The latest data available for UK ratings employed (by companies who are members of the Chamber) show that the figure is 11,340 as at May 1999.

A ratings task force, chaired by the Chamber of Shipping, has been set up and job opportunities for ratings will be considered.

Mr. Prosser

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many Merchant Navy officer cadets began training in the UK in each of the last five years. [118354]

Mr. Hill

The numbers of merchant navy officer cadets who began training in the UK in each of the last five years are as follows:

Year Number
1995–96 398
1996–97 460
1997–98 465
1998–99 494
1999–2000 480

These figures relate only to cadets supported under the Government funded training schemes Government Assistance for Training (GAFT) prior to 1997–98 and Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) since then.

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