§ 36. Sir B. PETOasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, in the examinations held in March and May of this year, the new entrants in the writing assistant class and women's clerical officer class will be limited to the number required to cover only the actual wastage vacancies on the permanent side of the staff; and, if not, what is the number of additional permanent civil servants it is intended to admit?
§ Mr. McNEILLA number of writing assistants from the examination held in March last will be required to deal with the additional work arising out of the award of Old Age Pensions as from 1st January next under the Contributory Pensions Act, as well as to fill wastage vacancies. It is anticipated that the new entrants from the examination for clerical officer posts in the women's branches will be required almost entirely to fill wastage vacancies, but I am not yet in a position to state how many candidates will be assigned to Departments as a result of these examinations, or to give details of their allocation, which must be influenced by the detailed arrangements for giving effect to the policy of restricting new entrants to the Civil Service, which are now under consideration.
§ Sir B. PETOWill it not be possible to find among the vast number of civil servants in all Departments some whose services can be dispensed with where they are now, and who could carry on the administration of the new duties referred to, instead of admitting new entrants into the Civil Service.
§ Mr. McNEILLAll these facts are taken into consideration and the best possible arrangements with regard to these new duties are being made.