§ Mr. CECIL HARMSWORTHasked the Secretary to the Treasury what number of officers, formerly Customs port clerks, second class, upper section, will by the limitation of the number of vacancies in the grade of surveyor open to their body be compelled permanently to remain in the officer grade of the Customs and Excise service; and what is the approximate average age at which these clerks will have exhausted all opportunities of obtaining promotion?
§ Mr. MASTERMANThere are upwards of eighty men in this class. Of these forty-two will be promoted to the surveyor grade as a result of success in limited competition, provided they reach a certain qualifying standard. Those who are unsuccessful will remain in the officer grade, but 1699W under the provisions of the Amalgamation Committee's Report those who are efficient will be allowed to progress to £400, (i.e., £100 above the maximum of the officer grade). The approximate age at which these officers will exhaust their opportunities of promotion cannot be stated in advance.
§ Mr. CECIL HARMSWORTHasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will state in what way Customs officials hold office at the pleasure of the Board; whether there is any limitation to the nature of the duties that established Civil servants may be required to perform; and, generally, to what extent a Civil servant is liable to perform duties that have hitherto been performed by a grade of officer recruited by a separate and distinct examination?
§ Mr. MASTERMANIn reply to the first part of the question, I would refer my hon. Friend to Section 3 of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876 (39 and 40 Vic, c. 36) and Section 4 of the Inland Revenue Regulation Act, 1890 (53 and 54 Vic, c. 21). As regards the remainder of the question, I would refer him to my answers to questions put to me by the Noble Lord the Member for West Perthshire on the 8th instant. It is, I think obvious that when the duties of a Department are increased or varied it must be left to the head of that Department to decide in what manner they should be allocated to the staff.
§ Mr. GOLDSTONEasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the Report of the Customs and Excise Amalgamation Committee recommended that Customs port clerks, who at entry were conditioned to an attendance of seven hours per day and have hitherto received payment at fixed rates approved by the Treasury for all attendance in excess of seven hours on any one day, shall in future be held liable to an attendance of forty-eight hours per week without additional remuneration save only the sum of £3 per annum; and whether the Law Officers of the Crown have been consulted by the Treasury as to its legal powers to enforce this change?
§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEThe Treasury have no intention of consulting the Law Officers on this point. I went into the matter very carefully with a deputation of Customs and Excise officials which attended before me recently.