HC Deb 30 April 1914 vol 61 cc1843-4
17. Mr. KELLY

asked the Chief Secretary whether the superintendent of statistics in the General Register Office is about to retire; and, if so, in view of the fact that this is a small office with a total staff of only about thirty established officers, will he revert to the practice of promoting one of these officers to the vacant superintendentship?

Mr. RUSSELL

The Registrar-General informs me that the answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. The latter part does not therefore arise.

18. Mr. WILLIAM ABRAHAM (Dublin, Harbour)

asked the Chief Secretary whether the position of superintendent of statistics in the General Register Office, Dublin, has always been filled by a permanent Civil servant on vacancies occurring since the establishment of the office; whether there is at present any special reason why another general medical practitioner should be deemed to have special qualifications for discharging clerical or administrative duties in this office; if the work of classifying causes of death and of segregating the various diseases which can be accepted as causes of death has been very fully and efficiently dealt with by the present superintendent of statistics; in the event of further questions of this nature arising, will they be referred to Sir William Thompson, M.D., the Registrar-General; and will he resist any recommendation to appoint anyone who is not an established Civil servant to the vacancy?

Mr. RUSSELL

This is practically the same question as No. 17, and the same answer applies.