§ Lieut-Colonel POWNALLasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, seeing that His Majesty's Treasury adopted in August, 1921, the recommendation of Lord Lytton's Committee that a competition should be held in the summer of that year for ex-service candidates, between 30 and 40 years of age, at present temporarily employed in Government Departments, with a view to the selection of some of them to fill vacancies in the administrative class, but that this competition has not yet been held, although vacancies in this class have since been filled from other sources, and some of the temporary administrative officers in question are at present under notice of dismissal, he will now cause this competition to be held without further delay, in order that a list of successful candidates may be prepared in order of merit, as selected, and that from this list may be filled vacancies in the administrative class, as and when they occur, up to the number of vacancies in this class which have already been filled from other sources since the date of the adoption of the Lytton Report, 1921?
§ Mr. BALDWINI beg to refer the hon. and gallant Member to the' answer which I gave him on the 28th Nov ember. I need only add that it is undesirable to hold a competition until vacancies are in sight, and that the claims of any of the officers concerned to compete for permanent appointment will not be prejudiced should their temporary employment come to an end.
§ Lieut.-Colonel POWNALLasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, having regard to his statement that three fresh appointments of women are about to be made to fill vacancies in the administrative class of the Civil Service, he will state what precisely in the nature of the duties attaching to these three vacant posts renders them appropriate to be filled by women, but not appropriate to be filled from the class of ex-service temporary administrative officers, between 30 and 40 years of age, some of whom are at present under notice of dismissal, and the selection of some of whom by means of a competition to fill the vacancies in 1777W the administrative class, in accordance with the recommendations of the Lytton Report, 1921, as adopted by His Majesty's Treasury, is now long overdue?
§ Mr. BALDWINIt is impossible within the limits of question and answer to describe satisfactorily the duties of particular posts, but I can assure the hon. and gallant Member that the three posts concerned are specially appropriate to be filled by women. The extent to which the claims of women to equality of opportunity have to give way to those of ex-service men is shown by the fact that of some 200 vacancies since midsummer of 1919 it has only been possible to fill a maximum of three by women.
§ Mr. GOULDasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the question of married women employed in Government Departments whose husbands are in full-time occupations; and whether he will exercise such discrimination as will lead to the employment of many ex-service men who are now idle?
§ Mr. BALDWINEstablished women officers are, under the Regulations approved by this House on the 5th August, 1921. normally required to resign their appointments on marriage. The Lytton Committee, in paragraph 14 (3) of its First Interim Report, recommended that, save where such action would entail considerable hardship or be seriously prejudicial to the efficiency of the Department, the services of all married women, temporarily employed, should be dispensed with. Action has been taken on these lines, and I am not aware of any cases of the kind to which my hon. Friend refers.