HC Deb 09 June 1932 vol 266 c2103
48. Mr. HICKS

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the normal lunch time of civil servants, including those on a seven-hour day and those working an eight-hour day, from the lowest to the highest grades; whether these lunch periods are agreed to in practice; and whether any exceptions to the official period for lunch are made and, if so, under what circumstances?

Major ELLIOT

For the general administrative and clerical classes, and analogous departmental classes, the normal luncheon interval, irrespective of grade or length of working day, is three-quarters of an hour, with discretion to Heads of Departments to allow up to an hour in special cases of difficulty. For other classes varying rules, within the limits I have just mentioned, apply. The answer to the second part of the question is in the affirmative and to the third that this is a matter for Departmental discretion.