§ MR. C. DUNCAN (Barrow-in-Furness)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury how many retirements under the age limits have taken place in the Customs outdoor department in each of the grades above that of second-class examining officer during the five years ended 31st March, 1907; and what is the maximum number of officers who will, or have, become eligible for superannuation under the existing retirement condition during the five years ending 31st March, 1912.
§ MR. RUNCIMANThe information which the hon. Member asks for in the first part of the Question will be found stated for the several years ended 30th November in the annual Estimates for the Customs. To collect the statistics in one Return and to give the particulars asked for in the last part of the Question would impose upon the Department an expenditure of time and labour which I am unable to authorise. For this reason I must request the hon. Member's indulgence if I am not able to give him full replies to the remaining Questions which he is about to address to me.
§ MR. C. DUNCANI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury what number of appointments have been made to the position of Surveyor of Customs since the 1st January, 1905; how many of the officers promoted since that date were passed over when their turn first came for promotion; what time, on the average, elapsed between the date when these officers were first considered unfit for the position of surveyor and the date of their subsequent promotion; and what is the average age and the average length of service of the officers affected.
§ MR. RUNCIMANI am informed that for many years it has been the practice to exhibit in a part of the Custom House to which the public have access, for the information of parties concerned, weekly lists of all appointments and promotions of Customs Officers. The Board of Customs have not readily available the full particulars desired, and in the circumstances I am not prepared to request their preparation.
§ MR. C. DUNCANI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury how many of the officers promoted by selection to the position of Surveyor of Customs since 1st January, 1905, failed for the junior position of first-class examining officer once; how many twice; how many three or more times; how many officers are there in the Department with more than twenty years' service who are junior to the last officer promoted to surveyorship, and who qualified for the position of first-class examining officer at the first opportunity; and whether there has been any departure from the terms of Treasury Minute, 24th March, 1901, which stated that a system of promotion entirely by seniority would not be for the public advantage.
§ MR. RUNCIMANI must refer the hon. Member to the Answer which I gave on the 6th May last to my hon. friend the Member for the Bridgeton Division of Glasgow, setting out generally the principles on which appointments in the direct line of promotion in the Customs Service since 1891 have been made. The Answer appeared in the Votes of that date. I do not think it desirable to give
† See (4) Debates,clxxiii., 1318.136 the figures asked for by the hon. Member even if they were readily ascertainable.
§ MR. C. DUNCANI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury what increase in the various grades of the landing and warehousing, the clerical, and the water-guard branches of the Customs Department were made consequent upon the imposition of the corn duty, the coal duty, and the sugar duty; and what reductions were made in the various grades when the duties on coal and corn were abolished.
§ MR. RUNCIMANAs was explained by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in Answer to a Question by my hon. friend the Member for Merthyr Tydvil on the 6th March, 1906, the introduction of the three duties referred to involved an increase of 444 persons and an additional annual expense for pay and allowances, travelling, clothing, and law charges of £57,600. It is not possible to state with accuracy what reductions were made on the abolition of the corn and coal duties, as the growth of Customs business in other directions absorbed to some extent the staff which might otherwise have been dispensed with, and any figures I might attempt to give would consequently be largely conjectural.
§ MR. C. DUNCANI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury what was the cost of the Customs Jerquers establishment during each of the last five financial years; how many queries were issued each year, and what was the gross amount brought to the revenue as the result of errors discovered by the Jerquer and his staff; and what are the present number, grades, and salaries of the clerks of the Jerquing staff.
§ *MR. REES (Montgomery Boroughs)Will the hon. Gentleman inform the House what kind of sprightly official the Jerquer is?
§ MR. RUNCIMANAnyone with experience of Customs' work perfectly well knows. I am informed that there is no separate Jerquer's establishment in the Customs, the work of jerquing forming part of the ordinary duties of the Long Room staff at each Port, and it is not possible to estimate with any degree of accuracy the numbers of the staff employed 137 on, or the cost of, this particular item of work. The Estimates for the current year show the grades and salaries of the clerical staff forming the Port Establishment of the Department by whom the work of jerquing is performed, but no data are readily available for furnishing an answer to the remainder of the Question.
§ *MR. REESWill the hon. Gentleman for the benefit of those without experience of Customs work say what a Jerquer is?
§ MR. RUNCIMANA man who prepares jerquering notes.
§ MR. MYER (Lambeth, N.)What is the literal definition of the word?
§ [No Answer was returned.]
§ MR. C. DUNCANI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury what are the salaries of the Collector of London, the Principal of the Statistical Office, the Accountant and Controller-General, and the Office Inspector, London; and what are the number, grades, and salaries of the staffs of which they are the respective heads?
§ MR. RUNCIMANI am afraid I cannot add anything to the information furnished by the published Estimates.
§ MR. C. DUNCANI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether the Board of Customs have fixed limits for the position of collectors, inspecting surveyor, and chief officer; and what is the age in each case.
§ MR. RUNCIMANThe Board of Customs inform me that they have not fixed any definite age limit for admission to the class of collectors, but in the case of junior collectorships, preference— except in very special circumstances— is given to men not over forty-five. No age limit has been fixed for inspecting surveyors. As regards chief officers I must refer the hon. Member to a Question on this subject by the hon. Member for Newton and to my Answer of the 27th February last. †
† See (4) Debates,clxx., 47.
§ MR. CURRAN (Durham, Jarrow)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether the assistant clerks (new class) in the Statistical Office, Customs, have forwarded certain memorials to the Treasury, alleging that the conditions under which they were induced to enter the Civil Service are not being observed; whether they have been threatened with punishment unless they withdraw the charge; whether they have forwarded a further memorial repeating the allegation and attaching copies of official memoranda in substantiation; and, if so, whether he can state how the matter now stands.
§ MR. RUNCIMANThis matter was discussed in Committee of Supply on the 16th May last, and I must refer the hon. Member to the debate which then took place.