75. Mr. STORRY-DEANSasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many civil servants receive 40 working days' leave in the year; whether these days are exclusive of Sundays, Bank Holidays, Christmas Day, and Good Friday; and if he will take steps, in the interests of economy, to secure that the holidays of civil servants coincide in length and number with those enjoyed by persons employed in commercial and municipal undertakings?
§ Mr. McNEILLThe number of civil servants, exclusive of those on foreign service, who are eligible for the amount of annual leave mentioned in my hon. Friend's question is estimated to be approximately 3,500. Every day taken, other than Sundays and general holidays, counts as a day's leave. I have no particulars of the leave actually received, but in many cases it is considerably less than the maximum amount allowable. With regard to the last part of the question, I am not aware of the grounds for the suggestion that the holidays of these officers are disproportionate to those enjoyed by persons of comparable standing. I have no reason to believe that if due allowance is made for every day's absence, they are out of scale with the leave arrangements of business and professional men.
§ Mr. DEANSIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that in municipal undertakings such persons as town clerks, borough, city and county surveyors, and the like, never receive more than one month's holiday per annum, while subordinate officers generally get a fortnight?
§ Mr. McNEILLI am aware of that, but it does not follow that those cases are quite comparable. The cases of the civil servants are much more comparable with the profession to which the hon. Member and I have the honour to belong.
§ Mr. DEANSIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that when the profession to which he and I belong take a holiday they do so at their own expense?
§ Sir HENRY CRAIKIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the full amount of the holidays is not always taken by members of the Civil Service, and that in the circumstances which often obtain, it is impossible for them to take the full amount of their holidays?
§ Mr. McNEILLThat is undoubtedly the case, and I know the higher grade officials very often sacrifice their holidays owing to the exigencies of public business.
§ Mr. REMERTaking the larger businesses, can the right hon. Gentleman tell us of any great business men who take as many as 40 working days' holiday in a year?