§ MR. CLAUDE HAY (Shoreditch, Hoxton)To ask the Secretary of State for War whether there is a list of unemployed colonels and brevet-colonels in No. 135 and following columns of the Army List, showing the dates on which officers were placed on half-pay, and have several officers been on half-pay since 1905; whether the majority of colonels' appointments are filled from officers on this list, and, if so, what steps, if any, are taken to ensure that officers when selected are in a fit state of health for their appointment; and whether, after an officer has been placed on half-pay, any examination is made as to his mental or physical fitness, even in the case of officers who were in a bad state of health during their last period of employment.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) This list is shown in Column 135 and following columns in the Army List, and contains the names of ten officers placed on half-pay in 1905. The majority of colonels' appointments are filled from it, and in most instances it is not considered necessary for the officer to be medically examined. If there was any doubt as to the medical fitness of a colonel on half-pay who was selected for an appointment, he would be required to go before a medical board.