§ 37. Mr. WILLIAM GRAHAMasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland what proposals have been made or are in contemplation by the Scottish Office and the Treasury with regard to the Commissary Office, Edinburgh, upon a vacancy occurring in the office of commissary clerk; if he is aware that any proposal to transfer the commissary office to the Sheriff Court would be opposed by the legal profession and the public; and whether the practice of filling the office of commissary clerk by a political appointment will be discontinued?
§ The SOLICITOR-GENERAL for SCOTLAND (Mr. F. C. Thomson)No decision has been taken on the matters referred to in the hon. Member's ques- 1702 tion. A decision will be taken when a vacancy arises, and all relevant considerations will then be taken into account.
§ Mr. GRAHAMWill the Solicitor-General for Scotland give us some promise in favour of discontinuing the practice of making political appointments, in view of the manner in which the Department has acted in the past?
§ The SOLICITOR-GENERAL for SCOTLANDAll relevant considerations will be taken into account should a vacancy occur.
§ 38. Mr. W. GRAHAMasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he can state the reasons for refusing a separate scheme of establishment to the commissary office staff; whether he is aware that this has caused dissatisfaction amongst the staff; and, considering that the commissary office is distinct from the sheriff court, whether the Scottish Office and the Treasury will reconsider their decision, in view of the importance of the work done in the commissary office, and the fact that it is analogous in many respects to the Principal Probate Registry in London?
§ The SOLICITOR-GENERAL for SCOTLANDThe bulk of the work in the commissary office is local, and precisely similar to the commissary work performed by the sheriff clerks and their staffs in other counties. Mainly for this reason it has been thought desirable to apply to the commissary office in the pending re-organisation the same system of grading, etc., as is proposed for the sheriff clerk service. It does not appear to the Government that anything is to be gained by shutting off the commissary office in a watertight compartment. The representations of the staff have been carefully considered, but no reasons have been shown justifying a modification of the decision reached.