asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what arrangements are being made to enable ratings serving in Her Majesty's ships on extended tours in distant waters to take the additional free home leave announced by Her Majesty's Government.

The free home leave travel schemes recently announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War will apply to naval personnel and details are being promulgated to the Navy. In practice, however, it will be unusual for naval personnel to qualify for these schemes, since they either undergo shorter spells of service abroad than those for whom the schemes are intended, or because they are not serving in the areas concerned.