§ Mrs. Tateasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the nationality of Dr. E. Guttmann, the only doctor on the N.F.S. Officers Selection Board; and why he was appointed, in view of the fact that he is not a British medical officer, that his qualifications are inferior and that he only got on to the register in 1939.
§ Mr. H. MorrisonThe National Fire Service Officers' Board applies the procedure of War Office Selection Boards in assessing the qualities of officership in the individuals who come before the Board, and I am advised that, for this purpose, the occasional assistance of a psychiatrist is necessary. When the National Fire Service Officers' Board was set up, there was difficulty in finding a fully qualified psychiatrist who had the special experience required, and eventually an arrangement was made with the Mill Hill Emergency Hospital, which is a part of the Emergency Medical Service and situated within easy reach of the Board's premises, for Dr. Guttmann, who is a psychiatrist on the staff of the hospital, to assist the Board in an honorary capacity, as and when he can spare the time from his duties at the hospital. Dr. Guttman, who is a German refugee from Nazi oppression, has been in this country since 1934, and I am advised that his qualifications and reputation in this particular field are of the very highest.