Lieut.-Colonel SPENDER CLAYasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the age limit of twenty-five years of ex-members of His Majesty's Forces may be temporarily suspended in 1871W making appointments in the Consular Service in view of the advisability of securing men with necessary qualifications and commercial experience?
Mr. HARMSWORTHThe age limit originally fixed for candidates for the Consular Service was forty-one and several appointments have been made amongst candidates between thirty and forty. There were no further vacancies in the general service on its existing basis, and the age limit of twenty-five, which was only1872W recently laid down, was primarily intended to apply to candidates for the Levant and Far Eastern services, where it is essential that candidates should be quite young in order that they may undergo a course of training in Oriental languages. The reorganisation scheme has now been sanctioned by the Cabinet with certain modifications and limitations, and the situation is now being considered with a view to throwing open a certain number of posts to older applicants.