§ DR. MACNAMARA (Camberwell, N)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that, as a result of the reorganisation of the Accountant General's Department of the Admiralty, 138 clerkships, hitherto held by men successful in open competitive examinations, are in future to be filled by men who have passed neither educational nor medical test; and, if so, will he state the circumstances which warrant such a departure from the principle upon which the English Civil Service is founded.
(Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) A certain number of second division clerks will, as opportunity offers, be replaced by 602 temporary clerical assistants. As this new class of clerks will not be on the establishment, no medical or educational examination is necessary, only those who prove efficient being retained. This system has been in operation in the Supply Departments of the Admiralty for some years, and no new principle is involved in extending it to the Accountant General's Department. No established clerks will be discharged in consequence of the reorganisation.