§ 58. Sir A. Knoxasked the President of the Board of Education whether his attention has been draw n to the notification circulated in his Department last month stating that the Air Ministry was prepared to consider applications from his Department from male education and male higher clerical officers for transfer to the Air Ministry; and will he state why in this notification the intimation contained in the communication from the Air Ministry that such transferees would have prospects of early promotion in the Air Ministry was omitted and also the reason for restricting the number of officers to be released in any event from his Department, seeing that the maximum advantage taken of this opportunity would result in vacancies in his Department 789 which might be filled by meritorious ex-service post-war clerical officers whose present promotion prospects leave much to be desired?
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education (Mr. Shakespeare)The attention of my right hon. Friend has been drawn to the notice in question. He welcomes an opportunity such as this to better the prospects of promotion of clerical officers in this Department generally including ex-service post-war officers. My Department, in response to the notification from the Air Ministry, submitted names of a number of officers. This number, in view of the fact that all civil Departments were circulated inviting applications, is likely to exceed the number selected from any single Department. No reference was made to the statement in the circular from the Air Ministry that officers selected would stand a reasonable chance of securing early promotion in order not to encourage false hopes among applicants, a large majority of whom, owing to the restricted number of officers required by the Air Ministry, would of necessity have been disappointed. While my right hon. Friend fully appreciates both the desirability of providing openings for clerical officers in this Department and of assisting the Service Departments when asked to do so, he is bound to consider the needs of his own Department which make it impossible to release more than a limited number of specially experienced executive and higher clerical officers. I may add that he has already during the last nine months released 21 clerical and other officers for service in other Departments, and is at this moment submitting to the Air Ministry, in response to a further request from them, the names of no fewer than 47 clerical officers who have applied for transfer.
Mr. AlexanderDoes the hon. Gentleman really seek to justify the withholding from members of the Board of Education staff of information as to the prospects of promotion in the Service Department?
§ Mr. ShakespeareIf the right hon. Gentleman will read the answer, he will see that every step is taken to co-operate with the Ministry.
Mr. AlexanderIs it not a well-known fact that in a Department like the Board of Education promotion is very slow? 790 There are large numbers who desire promotion, and you do not give them the full opportunity to transfer.