§ Mr. Pitmanasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what are the general principles under which State employees are allowed or forbidden for payment to write for publication on technical matters peculiar to their specialisation; and what differences are there in the particular cases of the Royal Air Force and the Air Ministry, the National Coal Board and decentralised coal units, and the Medical Services and the Ministry of Health when the appointed day is past.
§ Mr. Glenvil HallA Crown servant must obtain the consent of the head of his department for the publication of any work the subject-matter of which is connected with his official duties or those of other public servants. In cases where the work is considered to owe its value exclusively to the author's ability and research, no special financial arrangements are made. In other cases the Government may either arrange for official publication or stipulate that copies should be supplied for the public service at a special rate. These rules apply to the Royal Air Force, the Air Ministry and the Ministry of Health. I have no information about the arrangements in the coal industry, which are a matter for the National Coal Board itself. I understand that no rules have yet been made for employees of the new bodies set up under the National Health Service Act.