§ Mr. LAWSONasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, seeing that if salaried officers, temporary civil servants, had sat for examinations under the scheme of recruitment recommended by the Lytton Committee on the appointment of ex-service men to posts in the Civil Service they would have lost several hundred pounds a year salary and, in some instances, had to take posts under officers who had for some years been subordinate to them, he will consider the appointment of a percentage of the ex- 1523W service men holding higher-grade posts from the temporary position to that of permanent civil servants?
§ Sir W. JOYNSON-HICKSLarge numbers of ex-service men have been appointed since the Armistice to higher posts in the Civil Service: Particulars are given in paragraph 23 of the Third Interim Report of the Lytton Committee, of the appointments made to the main classes up to the date of the Report. The Lytton Committee in this Report recommended further action to the same end, and these recommendations were adopted. In addition, a certain number of ex-service men appointed to the clerical class have since been promoted. As has been previously stated, it will be open to the Southborough Committee, which has been appointed to inquire into the action taken under the Lytton Reports, if, in their opinion, difficulties have arisen in the application of the recommendations, to suggest any modifications that may be desirable to give full effect to the policy of preferential treatment of ex-service men recommended by the Lytton Committee, and, in the circumstances, I do not think any useful purpose would be served by my making a statement on the matter at this stage.