§ Mr. JAMES O'CONNORasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether it is the practice of the Treasury, as stated by his predecessor, to recognise as pensionable all services performed in an established capacity after the age of 16 years, and to reckon for pension all services performed in a full-time unestablished capacity if followed by service of the same character in an established capacity; and, if so, whether he will explain on what ground the Treasury refuses to count certain services performed by a class known as boy sorters, who were 16 years of age on entry into the Civil Service, who possessed Civil Service certificates, and were therefore 569W established servants, and have since been continuously employed in an established capacity, performing work of the same character as that on which they were employed as boy sorters?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSESpeaking generally the practice of the Treasury is as stated. The Treasury has not felt able to apply this practice in the cases alluded to, seeing that employment as a boy sorter was by the regulations under which the class was recruited expressly declared to be un-pensionable. I may add that the grant of a Civil Service certificate does not necessarily confer pensionable status.