§ Sir IAN FRASERasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many men joined the Civil Service in a temporary capacity after the termination of their military service in the Great War and what is their average maximum salary 878W per annum; how many such men have obtained, whether through examination or otherwise, permanent appointments, together with pension rights and what will be their average pension per annum; how many such men have not obtained pension rights but are still in the service and in the ordinary course will complete more than 10 years or more than 15 years' service, respectively, in the Civil Service; how many men described above have been allowed to reckon the whole of, half of, or some smaller portion of their temporary service for pension; how many other persons, being civil servants, but not described above, have since the Great War been granted permanent appointments after a period of temporary service and how many of them have been allowed to reckon, under the provisions of the Superannuation Act, 1887, the whole of, half of, or some smaller portion of their temporary service for pension; and what is the salary of the persons just mentioned and what will be their average pension?
§ Mr. COOPERInformation on the various points mentioned in the question is not available as regards classes other than the clerical classes with which my hon. and gallant Friend is probably mainly concerned. Complete statistics have not been collected showing the total number of ex-service clerks who have been employed in a temporary capacity in the Civil Service since the War. At the present time, however, there are in the Civil Service about 38,000 male clerks originally engaged in a purely temporary capacity under the special arrangements made during and after the War. The great majority of these clerks are ex-service men. Of the 38,000 approximately 33,000 have been granted permanency. Some 16,000 secured permanency after examination; the remainder were made permanent without examination. About 5,000 are still employed in a temporary capacity but such of these as have completed four years' aggregate service will, subject to certain conditions, be considered for permanent appointment in October, 1935, or October, 1936.
The average maximum salary of the 38,000 clerks referred to is not known. It may be stated, however, that approximately 22,000 have been appointed to the general or departmental clerical classes with maximum salaries ranging from £252 to £337 per annum. Some of these have 879W since been provided to higher grades, but particulars of such promotions are not available. Approximately 11,000 are serving in the "S" or special class, the maximum salary of which in London is, roughly, £195 per annum for those working a 42-hour week. As regards pensionability—this has been secured by all but about 2,500 of the 33,000 men who have been made permanent. Of the former number approximately 300 are medical rejects and will have an opportunity of being reconsidered for pensionability on attaining the age of 55. The remainder, numbering rather over 2,000, are too old for pensionability under the normal Civil Service rule that 10 years reckonable service by the age of 60 is necessary to qualify for that purpose. It is not possible to state what will be the average amount of pension which will be granted. The amount of pension in each case will depend upon (i) the length of reckonable service, which in turn will depend upon the age of retirement; (ii) the pensionable salary at date of retirement. As regards the men who have not secured pension rights, statistics are not available of the numbers who will in the ordinary course complete more than 10 years' or more than 15 years' unestablished service in the Civil Service.
The 16,000 ex-temporary clerks who secured establishment after examination do not reckon any of their previous service for pension. The clerks who were established at a later date in accordance with the recommendations of the Reports of the Temporary Staffs Committees of 1932 and 1934 are allowed to reckon service in full for pension from 1st October, 1932, or 1st August, 1934, and half service between 1st July, 1927, and these dates. The small numbers of non-service ex-temporary clerks who have been established have been treated, as regards the reckoning of temporary service for superannuation purposes, in the same way as ex-service men.