§ MR. DUNCAN SCHWANN (Cheshire, Hyde)To ask the Postmaster-General whether he can state the date upon which the regulations prohibiting the relatives of supervising officials being appointed at the same office were so modified as to exempt females; whether the staff were informed of this alteration; and whether, in view of the possibilities of favouritism, he will state the reason for the action.
(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The regulations, which were to some extent a matter of practice rather than of formal rule, were modified in 1903. No general notice was issued to the staff, but officers likely to be affected are duly warned 1085 upon appointment. The possibilities of favouritism are borne in mind, and exceptional cases are dealt with on their merits. It is obviously more difficult for a young woman than for a young man to live away from home.