§ Mr. BOWERMANasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention has been directed to the fact that the Treasury have approved a scheme of reorganisation of the Accountant and Controller-General's office of the amalgamated Customs and Excise Department, which preserves inter alia to certain Customs port clerks who chance to be serving in that office the prospect of proceeding to a salary of £400 per annum without undergoing any further examination and also their present right to overtime pay for all attendance in excess of seven hours per day; whether similar terms have been offered to Customs port clerks serving in the secretaries' office of the amalgamated Customs and Excise Department; and, if so, whether he will undertake that at least equal treatment in these respects shall be extended to all Customs port clerks serving in other offices of the Customs and Excise Department?
Mr. McKINNON WOODThe answer to the first and second parts of this question is in the affirmative. The answer to the third part is that the prospects and conditions of service in the Accountant-General's and Secretaries' Offices are different from those in the general Service outside, but the prospect of rising to a salary of £400 has been reserved to every efficient port clerk whether in those offices or outside.