§ Mr. RHYS DAVIESasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what further notices of dismissal have been issued to ex-service temporary clerks in the taxes branch of the Inland Revenue Department in addition to the 248 which terminate on the 31st July; upon what basis the order of discharge is being determined; whether efficiency is a factor; and what provision is being made for the transfer of these discharged mere to the vacancies which will be left in other Departments by the successful Southborough candidates who are taking the places of these men in the taxes branch?
§ Mr. McNEILLIn addition to the 248 notices of discharge terminating on 31st July, which have been issued to "home service" men serving in the Taxes Branch of the Inland Revenue Department, notice terminating on the 14th August has been issued to 55 men who first entered the Government service after 12th January, 1925, and who therefore are not eligible for permanent non-pensionable employment. Fifty-eight "home service" men and 186 "overseas" men have also been warned that in due course they may expect to receive one month's final notice. The process of selecting ex-service men temporarily employed as clerks for permanent unestablished employment has reached a stage at which it is possible to divide the temporary clerical staff of this branch by reference to military category and efficiency into a larger group of those who may possibly be selected and a smaller group of those who will definitely be displaced. As discharges are necessary they are made from the latter group, in accordance with the order prescribed by the First Report of the Lytton Committee,i.e., first home service men, then overseas men, and finally disabled men. In each military category men have been listed by reference to their comparative efficiency. The names of all men to be discharged are reported to the Joint Substitution Board of the Treasury and Ministry of Labour with a view to their consideration for vacancies for temporary clerks in other Departments, but it must not assumed that the appointment 1357W from outside the branch of an ex-service man who has been successful in the Southborough Examination creates in all cases a corresponding vacancy in another Department.