§ MR. LEA (St. Pancras, E.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that, by the terms of his engagement, the ex-officer employed as a clerk in the War Office is eligible for a pension after ten years service, whereas the ex-soldier in similar employment can only obtain a gratuity after fifteen years service; what is the reason for this differential treatment; and whether he will consider the propriety of placing the latter on the same footing as the former with regard to pensions.
§ MR. HALDANEWhen the employment of retired officers and ex-soldier clerks in the War Office was approved, the pay of the latter was deliberately fixed on a scale sufficiently liberal to exclude all claims to pension, while the pay of the former was based on the admission of a grant of pension. Under the conditions of the Superannuation Act the ex-soldier may be granted a gratuity on cessation of employment. The whole question was thoroughly reconsidered by a Committee two years ago, and it was decided that civil pensions should not be granted to ex-soldier clerks.
§ MR. LEAasked if it were not the fact that an officer employed on clerical duties got forty-eight days leave while a warrant officer similarly employed was only allowed fourteen or fifteen days?
§ MR. HALDANEreplied that he could not go into details, but he believed that the facts referred to in the Question were all taken into consideration in fixing the pension.