§ 18. Mr. Gowerasked the Secretary to the Treasury what efforts are being made to recruit an adequate number of Welshmen for administrative posts in the Civil Service, to meet the growing importance of the Welsh departments of several Ministries; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PowellThe Civil Service Commission selects entrants to the Administrative Class of the Civil Service solely by competitive examination. In appointing such staff to posts in Wales, Departments give full weight to Welsh affinities, and in particular, wherever desirable, to ability to speak Welsh.
§ Mr. GowerHas my hon. Friend's attention been drawn to a recent article in the Western Mail in which a well-known. retired civil servant expressed his conviction that the devolution of administration in Welsh Departments has been handicapped by the shortage of civil servants with special knowledge of Welsh affairs?
§ Mr. PowellI have not seen that article, but I shall be glad to look at it if my hon. Friend will be kind enough to send it to me.
§ Mr. C. HughesWill the hon. Gentleman ensure that fuller information on the whole range of Civil Service appointments is made available to secondary schools and the university colleges of Wales so as to stimulate the entry of young people in Wales into the Civil Service?
§ Mr. PowellI am informed that the Civil Service Commission keeps in close touch with the University of Wales on the question of recruitment.