§ 18. Mr. LINDSAYasked the Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware that a petition was forwarded last October to the Board of Customs and Excise from the Belfast Customs officials asking that in the event of officers being removed they should be sent strictly in order of their seniority within the port; that no reply has been received to the petition; that a number of 1103 officers are under orders for removal, although officers junior to them are apparently to be allowed to remain; that a number of the officers under notice are married, while many of the junior officers allowed to remain are unmarried; and, seeing that it would be in the interests of economy to remove the unmarried men first, will he say what action he proposes to take?
§ Mr. BALDWIN(Joint Financial Secretary to the Treasury)The petition was received, but do answer has been sent, as the matter is still under consideration. It is the fact that, owing to a rearrangement of the Customs outdoor work at Belfast, the staff employed on that duty is in excess of local requirements and will have to be transferred to meet pressure elsewhere, but no order has yet been made for the removal of any of them. The statement that a number of married seniors of them are to be removed while many of their unmarried juniors are to be left, is not understood. In transferring officers economy is not the sole consideration, and the general rule is to transfer the junior men first, not the unmarried men; but of course it may sometimes happen that for Departmental reasons a junior may have to be retained.
§ Mr. LINDSAYAs the question has been under consideration for something like six months, will the hon. Gentleman see that it is arranged as soon as possible?