§ MR. CARVELL WILLIAMS (Nottinghamshire, Mansfield)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Depart- 38 ment whether he is aware that Compton (Surrey) Parish Council, acting as a burial board, has, in advertising for a caretaker for the cemetery and a disused church-yard, stated that the person appointed must be a member of the Church of England, and that preference will be given to a man who would be willing to undertake the duties of parish clerk; and whether a parish council, acting under the Burial Acts, has the legal right to limit such an appointment to members of the Church of England.
§ * SIR M. WHITE RIDLEYThe hon. Member has been good enough to send me the advertisement in question. I am not aware that the parish council, in imposing the condition which it contains, are contravening the law. Their reason, as I am informed, for contemplating that the same person should hold the posts of caretaker and parish clerk is that the salary of the former post is not sufficient to secure the services of a suitable man.