MARQUESS of TULLIBARDINEasked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will explain how it occurs, if the appointments under the Scottish National Insurance Commissioners have been made upon a non-party basis, that the actuary and assistant-secretary are both prominent Radicals, and that some days ago the appointment of head clerk was offered to another Radical but was refused?
§ Mr. MASTERMANI cannot accept the statement of the case which I am asked to explain. I am not aware that the actuary and the assistant-secretary are prominent Radicals, and the appointment of head clerk has not been refused by anyone, whether Radical in opinion or otherwise.
§ Mr. MASTERMANI must have notice of that question.
MARQUESS of TULLIBARDINEasked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the salary of the actuary to the Scottish Insurance Commissioners; why its amount was not advertised before the appointment was made; who assisted the Commissioners in making the selection; why this was the only case in which the Advisory Committee was not mentioned in the Press; and whether the present actuary ever acted as a Radical agent to Lord Haldane when contesting Hadding-tonshire?
§ Mr. MASTERMANThe actuary now assigned to Scotland was required on appointment to serve either in Scotland or elsewhere, as he might be wanted. He was appointed at a salary of £550, rising to £700, not by the Scottish Commission, but by the Joint Committee. In this, as in other actuarial appointments, the Joint Committee acted on the recommendation of the chief actuary, who examined the applicants' professional qualifications, and in this case consulted the President of the Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland. In no case did he inquire or know what were 609 the applicants' political opinions, or whether they had, or had not, at some time in their lives worked for any political party. The answer to the last part of the question is in the affirmative. I may add that in selecting the gentleman in question, Mr. Watson was assisted by strong testimonials in his favour from the Scottish Life Assurance Company, of which the Noble Lord is himself, I understand, the vice-president.
MARQUESS of TULLIBARDINEArising out of the hon. Gentleman's reply to the last part of the question, may I ask how it is that in the previous question he stated he did not know this individual's politics, and in reply to this question tells me he was Radical agent to Lord Haldane?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe hon. Member cannot go back on previous questions.