§ 4. Mr. ROBERT YOUNGasked the Pensions Minister whether a considerable number of retired Regular naval and military medical men employed by the Minis—try are in receipt of pensions from £600 to £1,000 a year; whether demobilised temporary doctors whose sole source of income such an appointment frequently is are still in need of employment, and who, through the appointment of these pensioned officers, are frequently precluded from some of the better appointments; and whether pre-War rank is often considered as a sine qua non of medical efficiency?
§ Major TRYONOf the twelve retired Regular naval and military medical men employed as full time medical officers in the Ministry, six are in receipt of pensions of £600 a year or more. This rep-resents little more than one per cent, of the total number of medical men employed, and it is not therefore the fact that the employment of these gentlemen has any appreciable effect on the prospects of demobilised temporary doctors. The medical officers of the Ministry are selected according to their qualifications for the particular work to be performed.