§ MR. SAMUELSON (Gloucester, Forest of Dean)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state how many Civil servants over the age of 70 years are drawing salaries of £500 and upwards, and what total number of years' service under the Crown each of these has given, including broken and continuous service; whether in the interests of economy and the efficiency of the service, and considering the probable paucity of such veterans, he will consider the advisability of retiring them, upon pensions as liberal as can be granted under Section 9 of "The Superannuation Act, 1859," such pensions to be based upon the total number of years they have served under the Crown, irrespectively of the total period of service having been broken?
§ MR. JACKSONThere are no central records immediately available which would enable me to answer the first part of the hon. Member's question. There is power to require the retirement on the ordinary pension rates of any officer who is unequal to the performance of the duties of his position, and the Royal Commission on Civil Establishments has reported in favour of the retirement of Civil servants at 65 on ordinary pension. Section 9 of the Superannuation Act only permits special pensions to be given in recompense for special service, and it is not, therefore, applicable to the cases mentioned by the hon. Member.