§ Sir REGINALD POLE-CAREWasked the Postmaster-General whether the Tweedmouth Commission recommended that acting overseers in the Post Office during the absence of the regular overseers on annual or sick leave, and who prior to that Commission were in receipt of an extra allowance for such services, should cease to draw such allowance; if not, will he explain why the allowance was discontinued; and whether he can see his way to recommend the re-establishment of this extra pay?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELI am not aware that officers acting as overseers received extra payment for such duty before the date of the Tweedmouth Committee's Report. It was the practice, however, before that date for supervising allowances to be paid to the substitute as well as, or instead of, to the regular holder according as the latter was absent on annual or sick leave, and it may be to this practice that the hon. Member refers. The Tweedmouth Committee recommended that these allowances should always be paid to the officers regularly receiving them and not to substitutes. This recommendation was generally acted upon until the date of the adoption of the Parliamentary Committee's recommendations, under which a supervising allowance is now paid to the substitute as well as to the regular holder during the absence of the latter as soon as the substitute has completed a qualifying period of fifty-six days in each year on the supervising duty. I see no sufficient reason for a modification of the present practice.