§ Mr. Garro Jonesasked the Minister of Labour whether the system of filling Departmental posts exclusively from the Central Register is still in operation; how many names on the Register have been entered there for 12 months or more without being offered employment in the war effort; whether the Central Register authorities take any steps on their own initiative to place persons in employment; and whether he can give an assurance that the practice which sometimes obtained of making appointments and then formally entering and deleting the name from the Register has now been entirely discontinued?
§ Mr. BevinDepartments have instructions from the Treasury to notify all vacancies for higher administrative professional and scientific personnel to the Central Register but this is not and never has been the exclusive source of recruitment for such posts. The statistics asked for in the second part of the Question are not available; it is known however that the vast majority of the persons on the Register are already employed in the war effort. The answer to the third part of the Question is "yes." I am not aware that the practice referred to in the last part ever obtained; the aim of the Central Register is to build up a complete record of the country's resources in personnel of the categories with which it deals and individuals placed or transferred by it do not thereupon cease to be enrolled but remain available for consideration in the light of changing circumstances.