§ Mr. LeightonTo ask the Minister for the Civil Service what is the machine-marked qualifying test in the Civil Service; and how it operates.
§ Mr. LuceThere are two qualifying tests used in Civil Service selection. One is used in the executive officer scheme of recruitment, the other in the appointments in administration scheme. In both cases, the tests perform a dual function. First, they provide selectors with essential information about a range of aptitudes for the work—for example, candidates' verbal skills, numeracy and392W general reasoning ability. Secondly, they act as an objective method of reducing initial applicant numbers to proportions suitable for interview. The tests are in the multiple-choice form, which enables the Civil Service Commission to use a computer-linked optical mark reader to mark the answer papers.