HC Deb 01 December 1911 vol 32 cc961-2W
Colonel LOCKWOOD

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, taking into consideration the special circumstances obtaining in the case of the promoted Civil Service writers employed in the statistical department of His Majesty's Customs and Excise in that they were engaged upon work which was equal to that done by lower division clerks, and seeing that those Civil Service writers in other departments of the State who were merely engaged upon the simplest copying work were allowed to count one-half of their un-established service, and seeing also that there are but thirty men concerned, and that the estimated cost to the State would be at the outside but £20 extra per annum per man spread over a number of years, he can see his way to granting them the other half of their unestablished service to count for pension?

Mr. McKINNON WOOD

I fear I can add nothing to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for the Tottenham Division of Middlesex on the 21st instant.

Mr. LUNDON

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in any new regulations recently issued with regard to Customs and Excise, it was compulsory on students to attain a certain knowledge in chemistry or in a language other than English; if so, whether he was aware of the difficulty candidates from national schools would have in trying to get ready for the coming examination with such short notice; and, having regard to the fact that the putting in of such a rule would debar national school candidates from almost competing, would the old programme be adhered to and thus give a chance to young boys who had been preparing for this coming examination without any notification of this extra subject?

Mr. McKINNON WOOD

Under the new scheme of examination candidates must offer chemistry or mathematics, and they may offer two out of four optional subjects, namely, chemistry or mathematics (whichever is not already offered as a compulsory subject), geography and English history, and any two of Latin, French or German. With regard to the latter part of the question, I can add nothing to my former answers on this subject, except that young boys are not eligible for the examination. The lowest age limit is nineteen.