12. Mr. David Adamsasked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been called to the fact that the Civil Service Insurance Society, which is a feeder organisation of the North British Insurance Company, has been afforded facilities by the divisional officer of his Department in Edinburgh for the distribution among civil servants of literature on life assurance; whether he is aware that, owing to the methods of employment of the North British Insurance Company, the Civil Service papers have decided to refuse all advertisements of the society; and whether, in these circumstances, he will terminate the use of the machinery of his Department for advertising this society?
§ Mr. E. BrownThe Civil Service Insurance Society is an independent society formed by civil servants; it has existed for some 50 years to encourage life assurance and other forms of insurance among civil servants and to provide favourable terms therefor by means of arrangements with commercial companies. The circumstances in which these facilities were given to this society and to two other organisations catering for civil servants were explained in my reply of 11th June to the hon. Member for the Shipley division (Mr. Creech Jones), in which I stated also that if I receive requests from other societies with like objects for facilities of the same kind I will consider them. Accordingly, while I am aware of the matters referred to in the second part of the question, I see no ground for terminating these facilities.
§ Mr. BrownI should like to know about that. I should like the question put down in specific terms.