§ Mr. Jaggerasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in what circumstances Lieutenant-Colonel Cripps has been appointed to a post in his Department; what salary the post carries; what are the duties involved, and what special qualifications Lieutenant-Colonel Cripps possesses for their discharge; and whether he is satisfied that the post could not have been filled from amongst civil servants already serving either in the Department or elsewhere?
§ Mr. W. S. MorrisonThe staff of the Food (Defence Plans) Department has been considerably expanded recently in526W order to accelerate the preparation of arrangements necessary for the supply, control and distribution of food in time of war. Though the expansion has been effected in many cases by the promotion of officers in the Civil Service, it has been found necessary to supplement the staff drawn from the permanent Service with a number of temporary officers. In accordance with this arrangement, Lieutenant-Colonel Cripps, who had had previous experience of administrative work, was appointed as a temporary assistant in the Meat and Live Stock Branch of the Department on the 16th January, 1939, at a salary of £500 a year. The answer to the last part of the question is in the affirmative.