§ MR. ROWLANDS (Kent, Dartford)To ask the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, whether the examination of veterinary inspectors of the Animals Division of the Board of Agriculture for promotion to the permanent staff is the same as the examination for fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons; if so, whether those inspectors now holding the fellowship degree of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons can be exempted from the veterinary portion of that examination; and whether he is aware that in the Army veterinary service it is the practice to exempt fellows of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons from undergoing the examination on promotion from captains to majors
(Answered by Sir Edward Strachey.) The scheme of examination for our veterinary inspectors has not yet been finally settled, but it is probable that it will differ materially from that for the Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. This being the case, and in view of the special character of the work of our veterinary inspectors, it is doubtful whether the suggestion made by my hon. friend is one which could with advantage be adopted, but the matter is one for determination by the Civil Service Commissioners and not by the Board themselves. The reply to the concluding inquiry of my hon. friend is in the affirmative.