HC Deb 11 May 1897 vol 49 cc190-1
CAPTAIN NORTON (Newington, W.)

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury (1) whether the clerks of the Upper Division in the Office of the Charity Commission are required by Treasury Minute of 27th May 1883 to be either barristers or solicitors; (2) whether such clerks are appointed by open competition and after examination by the Civil Service Commissioners, or are nominated personally by the Read of the Department without such examination; and, (3) if by the latter method, whether there is any reason why these clerks should not be appointed by open competition, as in the case of clerks of a similar class, required to possess legal qualifications, in the Office of the Ecclesiastical Commission and the Office of Woods?

MR. HANBURY

The answer to the first paragraph is Yes. The limits of age are 25 to 32, and the scale of salary £250, rising to £400. These clerks are nominated by the Charity Commissioners without a Civil Service examination, hut they must either be barristers of not less than two years' standing who have been called to the Bar after passing a public examination, or else persons who have been duly admitted as solicitors under the regulations of November 2, 1875. The present system secures men possessing the special qualifications necessary for the work, and there seems no need to alter it. I am not aware of any similar officers at the Ecclesiastical Commission. At the Office of Woods the limits of age and the scale of salary are much lower and they are not required to be either barristers or solicitors.