asked the Minister of War Transport if he will remove the colour bar which prevents the sons of British seamen, resident in this country, from entering Greenwich Merchant Navy Training School.

I assume my hon. Friend refers to the Gravesend Sea School, which is temporarily at Sharpness, Gloucestershire. This School trains only boys for the Deck and Catering Departments of the Merchant Service. There is no actual bar against the training of boys of colour, but training must be related to opportunities for employment in ships, and the fact is that very few opportunities occur in this country for employing coloured deck and catering ratings. When an opportunity arose for the employment of coloured men as firemen, arrangements were made for their admission to the firemen's schools.