§ Mr. Hopkinsonasked the Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware of the dissatisfaction which has been caused among temporary clerks in the clerical assistant grade of the Civil Service who, because they are under 45 years of age, are ineligible for permanent establishment unless they are registered disabled persons; and what action he proposes to take in the matter.
§ Mr. JayThe current scheme for the establishment of temporary clerks as clerical assistants was agreed with the Staff Side of the National Whitley Council, subject to the right of any constituent Association to pursue a claim that the lower age limit for establishment of 45 should be reduced. Representations in this sense were received from one Association. In adopting a lower age limit of 45 for this scheme, the Government is applying in a very suitable part of the Civil Service its policy of encouraging the employment of the older age groups of the population. The representations to lower the minimum age limit were therefore rejected, and I do not consider that any further action is called for.