HC Deb 01 June 1937 vol 324 cc858-9
51. Mr. Banfield

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, under the new scheme for placing service-expired men on their retirement in Civil Service posts, their service with the Colours will be taken into account towards their civil pension on final retirement?

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Lieut.-Colonel Colville)

No, Sir. The appointments are in many cases to non-pensionable posts. In the case of pensionable posts, the duration of civil employment will, in accordance with the usual practice, determine the amount of any pension. The proposal that Colour service should count towards civil pension has been repeatedly examined, but successive Governments have not found it possible to adopt it. I would invite the attention of the hon. Member to paragraphs 687 and 688 of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service (Command Paper No. 3909).

Major-General Sir Alfred Knox

Does the hon. and gallant Member not realise that this concession would be a valuable aid to recruiting? Does he not realise that the attitude of the Treasury all along has prevented recruiting? If you change the Secretary of State for War every week you will never get recruits until the Treasury changes.

Lieut.-Colonel Colville

I do not agree at all with my hon. and gallant Friend that the Treasury is preventing recruiting. If he will refer to the report I have mentioned he will see that there is some difficulty. I have examined it with every sympathy, but there is a good deal of difficulty in adopting it.

Mr. Thurtle

Is the hon. and gallant Member not aware that the Treasury is the root of most of our troubles these days?