Mr. FRED HALL (Dulwich)asked what principle was followed in the Civil Service when, for reasons other than the specific reasons of efficiency or economy, it was decided to supplant one class of established officers by another; whether the prospects of promotion of existing members of the supplanted class were safeguarded; whether a common principle obtained in the different Departments; and, if not, whether the variations in different Departments could be stated?
Mr. McKINNON WOODI am not aware of any instances of the substitution of one class of established officers for another effected for reasons other than those of efficiency or economy. Officers entering the public service do so on the understanding that the organisation of the Department to which they are assigned is subject to any alteration which may be required in the public interest from time to time, and it is, of course, impossible to recognise the right of any individual to promotion to a higher situation.