§ Mr. AMMONasked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that Lieut.-Colonel Sir T. Duncan Rhind, who was appointed from the temporary to the 2054W permanent staff of the Civil Service owing co his exceptional qualifications as a statistician, acquired these qualifications during his service with the Government or before; whether Lieut.-Colonel Sir Duncan Rhind is an architect; whether he has been appointed at the maximum scale of salary for the post; and whether the appointment carries with it a pension or gratuity on retirement?
§ Major TRYONThe answer to the first part of the question as I conceive the hon. Member intended to frame it, is that the test for appointment is the possession of certain qualifications and not the time when, or the means by which, these qualifications are acquired. I would add, however, that for 18 months before his appointment to this Department in 1919, Sir Duncan Rhind was the Chief Recorder of the Ministry of National Service—a post for which he was specially selected on account of his proved capacity for handling statistics. The answer to the remaining parts of the question are in the affirmative, but I would observe that Sir Duncan Rhind is now receiving as an established civil servant £142 per annum less than he received in his unestablished capacity.