HC Deb 30 June 1920 vol 131 cc458-9W
Viscount CURZON

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury why well-educated ex-service men between 27 and 30 years of age, who relinquished their civilian jobs to join His Majesty's Forces in 1914, and are now unable to secure reemployment in commercial life, are not regarded as eligible for appointment to the post of officer of Customs and Excise; and whether vacancies for these posts are considerably more numerous than those already stated?

Mr. BALDWIN:

The upper limit of age for candidature for the situation of officer of Customs and Excise under the Reconstruction Scheme is fixed on the comprehensible and reasonable principle stated in my reply to my Noble Friend's previous question, candidates being required to have been born on or after 2nd September, 1893. Under this limit of age an ample supply of qualified candidates is available, and I can see no ground for substituting any other principle for fixing the limit of age. All existing vacancies for these posts have been reported to the Civil Service Commissioners.

Viscount CURZON

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether the age limits fixed by the Civil Service Commissioners for the post of officers of Customs and Excise preclude the appointment of men who were over 21 years of age at the outbreak of War; and whether he will raise the age in order to meet the case of ex-service men of good education who joined His Majesty's Forces in 1914 and served throughout the War, and who are now unable from age or physical disability due to the War to obtain re-employment in their former jobs?

Mr. BALDWIN:

The upper limits of age under the Reconstruction Scheme have been raised so as to allow the candidature of men who may have missed their last chance of competing under the normal system by joining His Majesty's Forces. The Reconstruction Scheme was designed to provide opportunity of appointment to the Civil Service in classes normally filled by open competitive examination to candidates who missed a chance of competing either by the suspension of competitive examinations during the War or by enlistment before examinations were suspended. The Scheme was not intended to provide opportunity to men who had, but did not take, opportunities of candidature before the War broke out.