§ Mr. Haireasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made with the constitution of Branches B and C of the Foreign Service.
§ Mr. MayhewRegulations for Branch B of the Foreign Service (consisting of persons appointed to the Foreign Service for the performance of executive and clerical duties), having been agreed by the Foreign Office Whitley Council, have now been approved and will be promulgated in the London Gazette in the immediate future. These regulations are on similar lines to those already in force for Branch A of the Foreign Service. The new Branch B is designed to provide, within the framework of the Foreign Service, a staff recruited at levels comparable with those of the executive and clerical classes of the Home Civil Service which will perform most of the non-political functions at His Majesty's embassies and legations and, in its lower ranges, the minor duties at consular posts. In its higher ranges, it will,inter alia, take over many of the consular duties hitherto performed by officers of Branch A. For example, officers of the new branch will take charge of a considerable number of independent consulates and will, at other consular posts, act as deputies to senior officers of Branch A.
The personnel of Branch B of the Foreign Service will number about 1,000 officers in six grades, rising from Grade 6 (£125–£430) to Grade (£1,320–£1,600), and this branch should, within itself, offer an attractive career in the public service to young men and women who may enter between the ages of 16 to 18½ years through the normal Civil Service Examinations. In addition, suitable officers of Branch B will be eligible for promotion 249W into Branch A at any stage in their careers.
Draft regulations for Branch C of the Foreign Service (shorthand typists, secretaries, etc.) have been prepared and are now under consideration by the Foreign Office Whitley Council.