§ Mr. Finlayasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the procedure has now been revised which is to be followed when the reliability of a civil servant, the nature of whose work is vital to the security of the State is thought to be in doubt on security grounds; and whether revised terms of reference have now been given to the three advisers who hear appeals from such persons.
§ Mr. PowellThe procedure has now been revised as follows:
"1. The Minister* will have before him information on which to decide whether the reliability of the civil servant is prima facie to be regarded as in doubt on security grounds. A civil servant will be so regarded if:
- (a) he is, or is to be, employed in connection with work the nature of which is vital to the security of the State; and simultaneously;
- (b) he is or has recently been a member of the British Communist†
153 Party, or in such a way as to raise reasonable doubts about his reliability, is or has recently been sympathetic to Communism, associated with Communists or Communist sympathisers, or is susceptible to Communist pressure. No statement of general application can be made as to what constitutes sympathy or association under (b) above. Each case will be assessed in the light of the particular facts.
2. If the Minister rules that there is a prima facie case, the civil servant is at once to be so informed and will normally be sent on special leave with pay, care being taken as far as possible not to disclose the reasons for his absence to his colleagues.
3. The civil servant will at the same time be given any particulars, such as the date of his alleged membership, or the nature of the alleged sympathies or associations, that might enable him to clear himself. There will however have to be limits to the information given for he cannot be given such particulars as might involve the disclosure of the sources of the evidence.
4. At the same time the civil servant will be asked to say whether he accepts or denies the allegation. If he accepts the allegation he will be dealt with as described in paragraphs 9 and 10 below. if he does not admit the allegation he shall have fourteen days in which to make written representations to the Minister if he so wishes.
5. The Minister will reconsider his prima facie ruling in the light of any representations the civil servant may make. If the Minister decides that there is no reason for varying it, the civil servant shall be so informed and shall then have seven days in which to decide whether to ask for a reference to the Three Advisers. If he does not ask for such a reference he will be dealt with as in paragraph 8 below. If he does ask for a reference to the Three Advisers the latter will be asked to consider the case as soon as possible.
6. The function of the Three Advisers is set out in their terms of reference. Where there is no suggestion of Communist or Fascist associations or sympathies, cases of character defects will not be referred to the tribunal, and 154W appeals will be dealt with under the normal disciplinary procedure of Departments.
7. In discharging their functions the Advisers will take into account the representations made by the civil servant. They will hear him in person, if he so wishes. He may also ask third parties to testify to them as to his record, reliability and character but he may not be accompanied and/or represented by a third party before them. In the special circumstances of these cases the proceedings must be governed by the requirement that neither sources of evidence nor evidence which might involve the disclosure of sources can be given to the person concerned. The Advisers will therefore count it as an important part of their functions to see that anyone appearing before them can make his points effectively and will adapt their procedure in such a way as to give him the best possible opportunity of bringing out the points which he wishes to bring to their notice.
8. On receiving the report of the Three Advisers, the Minister will reconsider his prima facie ruling and if he decides to uphold it, he will give the civil servant an opportunity of making representations to himself or his representative before action is finally taken. Similar opportunity will be given when the civil servant does not wish his case to go to the Advisers.
9. If the prima facie ruling is finally upheld, a civil servant will be posted to or retained in a non-secret branch within his own Department, or, if this is not practicable, will be posted to a non-secret branch in another Department. If he belongs to a category which it is impossible to employ in any other than a secret branch, or if his qualifications or experience are such that no alternative employment elsewhere in the Government service can be found, he will have to be dismissed unless he accepts the option, which should always be afforded in such cases, of resigning.
10. Before a decision to re-post, or in the last resort, to dismiss (with resignation as the alternative), is made effective, the civil servant's staff association should be afforded an opportunity of suggesting any alternative re-posting that it may think more suitable, or of 155W suggesting a possible re-posting as an alternative to dismissal or resignation.
11. If a civil servant resigns or is dismissed the existing Superannuation Acts provide automatically for certain consequences in his superannuation benefits. These consequences are set out in the attached Annex.
ANNEX
Application of the Superannuation Acts Established Civil Servants
1. Dismissal or resignation of officers under age 50 entails the loss of benefits under the Superannuation Acts.
2. Officers aged 50 and upwards may resign voluntarily and receive at 60 the pension which had accrued to them at the time of their resignation.
3. Officers of any age who take up employment in another public service to which the Transfer Rules and Public Office Rules apply, would be eligible for the arrangements which may be made under those Rules. It should be noted that, if they are to be applied, the prior consent of the head of the Department is required to the change of employment.
Unestablished civil servants
4. Officers who have completed seven years' service and who resign or are dismissed will receive the benefits to which they are entitled under the Superannuation Acts."
The following revised terms of reference have been given to the Three Advisers.
- "1. It is the policy of Her Majesty's Government that no one who is or has recently been a member of the British Communist Party or of a Fascist organisation or who, in such a way as to raise legitimate doubts about his reliability, is or has recently been sympathetic to Communism or Fascism or associated with Communists‡ or Communist sympathisers or is susceptible to Communist pressure, should be employed in connection with work the nature of which is vital to the security of the State.
- 2. You have been appointed to advise Ministers in any cases referred to you whether in your opinion their prima facie ruling that an individual comes under paragraph 1 has or has not been substantiated. In doing so you should answer the following questions:
- (i) Are there or are there not reasonable grounds for supposing that the individual has or has recently had Communist sympathies or associations of the type described in paragraph 1 above?
- (ii) If you are in doubt about the answer to (i) above, how do you assess the evidence whether presented to you or elicited at the hearing before you?
- 3. In answering these questions your aim should be to give the Minister the utmost
156 help in deciding himself what course to take. - 4. If you agree with the prima facie ruling you should specify your grounds. If you do not agree with the prima facie ruling or do not reach a firm opinion in any instance you should assess the evidence for the Minister reporting the weight which you have attached to particular factors.
- 5. You should in all cases take precautions to safeguard any very secret sources from which any of the information bearing on the conclusions has been obtained.
- 6. In the appreciation of a case defects of an individual's character should be taken into account when they bear upon his reliability in the general context of Communist associations or sympathies. (Where no question of such associations or sympathies arises, cases of character defects will not be referred to you, but appeals will be dealt with under the normal disciplinary procedure of Departments.)
- 7. A decision on what employment is to be regarded as involving 'connection with work the nature of which is vital to the security of the State' is not one for you but for Ministers in charge of Departments. Your functions do not extend beyond advising Ministers as set out above."
The National Staff Side have been consulted and their views taken into account; but they are not thereby made parties to the terms of these documents and in fact dissent on certain points.
* That is, the Minister responsible for the Department to which the Civil Servant belongs.
† In this Statement of Procedure, for convenience and brevity the term "Communist" is used to cover Communist and Fascist alike.
‡ In these terms of reference for convenience and brevity the term "Communist" is hereafter used to cover Communist and Fascist alike.
§ 89. Mr. W. Griffithsasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will give an assurance that civil servants and industrial workers engaged on secret work who may give hospitality to Hungarian refugees will not be treated as security risks.
§ Mr. PowellIt is a fundamental principle of our security policy that each individual case must be considered on its merits. Subject to this, it is most unlikely that a person would be held to be a security risk simply because he had followed the tradition of this country in offering hospitality to a genuine victim of Communist oppression.