HC Deb 31 October 2001 vol 373 c680W
Mr. Peter Duncan

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on his plans for cadet training within the Merchant Navy. [11307]

Mr. Jamieson

Cadet training is a matter for the shipping industry itself. But the Government provide financial support for training under the Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme. A company entering the UK tonnage tax has to meet a training commitment equivalent to one officer trainee per year for every 15 officer posts in its fleet. We believe these measures will increase cadet training.