§ Lord Beaumont of Whitleyto ask Her Majesty's Government:
What action they are taking to ensure that MSC-trained computer programmers can, if otherwise suitable, join the Civil Service at Executive Officer level even if they do not hold two A-levels.
§ Baroness YoungA number of reviews of automatic data processing in the Civil Service have concluded that computer programming should continue to be undertaken by Executive Officers in the Administration Group, and that such staff must be capable of performing the full range of executive duties not just the specialised work of programming. It is important that the standard of the Executive Officer grade be maintained by recruiting direct entrants with the intellectual ability and potential to fill the middle management and some senior management posts of the future. Accordingly it is proposed to continue recruiting directly to the grade of Executive Officer only those who meet the minimum academic requirements of 5 GCE passes with 2 of them at A-level.