§ 20. Mr. JAMES HOGGEasked whether the right hon. Gentleman is now in a position to state the method of filling the posts of second-class clerkships under the Prison Commissioners; and, if not, whether he can say that they will be filled by competition?
Mr. McKINNON WOODI have not as yet anything to add to the answer which I gave to my hon. Friend last Tuesday.
§ Mr. J. HOGGECan the right hon. Gentleman say whether any of these posts will be filled by nomination, and, if so, on whose nomination?
Mr. McKINNON WOODNo, Sir. I cannot add anything to the answer I gave. It is a matter upon which I have to consult the President.
§ 36. Mr. DOUGLAS HALLasked the Home Secretary what are the duties of the clerk and draftsman in the office of the surveyor to the Commission of Prisons, and what are the reasons which induced His Majesty's present Government to remove this position from the list of situations in the Civil Service open to public competitive examination by the Civil Service Commissioners; and why it was considered necessary to place this position amongst those which can be filled by the patronage and nomination of a Minister of the Crown or by the head of a Department, and what is the salary attached to this position?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. McKenna)The duties are to supervise the work of the draftsmen and all details in the drawing office. The qualifications for the post are technical, and when a vacancy occurred in October, 1905, arrangements were made by which it was filled by one of the technical officers already serving in the Prison Department in an unestablished position. This arrangement has worked well, and, as it was proposed to continue it, the post was in 1909 removed from Schedule A. The salary is £5 a week.
21. Major HOPEasked what was the result of the inquiry held by the Scottish Prison Commissioners with regard to the speech delivered at the New Café, St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, on 29th January, by the Medical Officer of the Duke Street Prison, Glasgow; and what finding, if any, the Scottish Prison Commissioners arrived at?
Mr. McKINNON WOODI have nothing to add to my previous answer to the hon. and gallant Gentleman on the 17th March.
Major HOPEIs it not in the public interest to know whether the inquiry acquitted this officer of having publicly ridiculed the Borstal system or of having contravened the rules of the Civil Service, especially as he has since been appointed a Prison Commissioner to administer the Crimes Act in Scotland?
Mr. McKINNON WOODIn my previous answer I gave the hon. and gallant 1804 Member all the information I had about the inquiry, and I have no further information.
Mr. McKINNON WOODYes, there was. The answer was that the Prison Commissioners had held an inquiry, and the doctor in question denied that the short report in the papers adequately or practically represented the views he expressed.
§ Sir G. YOUNGERWas that the only report?
§ Mr. WHITEHOUSEIs there anything improper in the official in question discussing ordinary social problems?
§ Major ANSTRUTHER-GRAYMay we take it from that answer that the right hon. Gentleman agrees with these statements?
§ 22. Mr. JAMES HOGGEasked whether, in advertising prison clerkships, the age was confined to between eighteen and thirty; whether this precludes existing store warders from applying on account of the age barrier; whether the existing store warders will have the training of any new appointments; and whether these men will ultimately be promoted over the heads of their instructors?
Mr. McKINNON WOODThe answer to the first and second parts of the question is in the negative. I am informed that the clerks will be trained under the prison stewards, and that store warders and clerks will be equally eligible for promotion.
§ 23. Mr. J. HOGGEasked the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been called to the disparity in remuneration of Scottish store warders who are performing the same work as English clerks and schoolmasters; whether, in addition to the same work, Scottish store warders work twenty-nine hours per fortnight more than English clerks; and whether he is prepared to consider these circumstances with a view to remedying the disparity?
Mr. McKINNON WOODThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I am not in a position to institute precise comparisons between the two services. The hours of store warders in Scotland do not exceed nine a day. There was an improvement in their position as recently as 1910, and I am in communication with the Treasury on the subject.
§ Mr. J. HOGGEIs it a fact that the Scottish storekeepers actually work twenty-nine hours more in the fortnight?
Mr. McKINNON WOODI do not know. I cannot answer that question myself, because I do not exactly know what the differences in their work are, but I believe they do work nine hours a day, and, if the English storekeepers work seven, then they do work more hours.
§ Mr. J. HOGGEWill the right hon. Gentleman make inquiries?