§ Mr. Edenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is satisfied with the Reconstruction Examination as a form of entry into the senior branch of the Foreign Service; and, if so, whether he wishes in any way to modify the conditions of recruitment set out in the proposals for the reform of the Foreign Service made in the White Paper of 1943.
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§ Mr. BevinYes, I am very satisfied with the results of the Reconstruction Examination and the practical experience which has been gained in the last two years has led me to decide that this form of examination should be given a further trial During this time the proposals contained in the White Paper will be held in suspense and an adapted form of the Reconstruction Examination will be the regular method of entry into the Senior Branch of the Foreign Service.
I have, therefore, asked the Civil Service Commissioners to arrange that the future normal examination, which will be resumed next year, shall consist for the time being of a short qualifying written examination, a simple test of the candidate's ability to acquire foreign languages and an interview with the Final Selection Board presided over by the First Civil Service Commissioner. In addition, candidates who qualify in the written examination and in the language test will be required, before the final interview, to take the Civil Service Selection Board's Country House tests so long as these continue to be used for the Reconstruction competition which must for the present run parallel with the normal competition. Candidates will normally have to obtain a degree with at least Second Class Honours at an approved University. A candidate who has not yet taken his degree may be admitted provisionally to the examination, but will be disqualified if he fails to obtain a degree with at least Second Class Honours during the current academic year. A candidate who fails to obtain such a degree, or who has not attended a University, may qualify for the final tests by taking the more comprehensive written examination open to candidates for the Administrative Class of the Home Civil Service, and satisfying the Civil Service Commissioners that his work in this examination is up to Second Class Honours standard.