HC Deb 28 December 1919 vol 123 cc1257-8W
Sir JOHN BETHELL

asked the Secretary to the Treasury (1) whether he will state the reason for refusing to allow any part of the prior unestablished service of clerks engaged in the legal offices of the public Departments of the Crown to count toward pension, seeing that it was the unanimous recommendation of the Royal Commissioners on the Civil Service (ride their Fourth Report issued 2nd April, 1914) that such service should count towards pension, in view of the fact that it has been granted in many cases by the Treasury to other bodies of clerks placed on the establishment, inchiding personal clerks to surveyors of taxes;

(2) whether he will give favourable consideration to the prior unestablished service being counted for pension in the case of members of the non-professional staffs in the legal offices of the public Departments of the Crown who had for many years, prior to the issue of the Fourth Report of the Royal Commissioners on the Civil Service in 1914, been engaged in the permanent personal service of the heads of the various Departments; and what is the ground for refusing to grant to the non-professional staff the benefit of the terms of Section 3 of the Superannuation Act, 1887, in view of the strong recommeedations of the Royal Commissioners in their Report above referred to?

Mr. BALDWIN

I am afraid that I can hold out no hope that the Treasury decision on this matter will be reversed. Personal employés of the head of a Department, remunerated out of an allowance for clerical assistance, etc., placed at that officer's disposal, have never been regarded as being in the service of the State for the purposes of Section 3 of the Superannuation Act, l887; moreover, personal clerks have always beer given clearly to understand that their service carried no title to superannuation benefits. Clerks to surveyors of taxes are not allowed to reckon for pension Inure than the whole period of service in the direct employment of the Board of Inland Revenue.