§ 98. Mr. Sorensenasked the Secretary to the Treasury how many men and women, respectively, of the temporary 80W staff in the Exchequer and Audit Department have been discharged since January and how many are likely to be discharged this year; how many of these have been, or will be, under 60 years of age; and, in view of the difficulty of those over 50 years of age securing suitable alternative employment, whether special consideration is given to the necessity of retaining temporary staff, who have given many years of service, until they are 60 years of age.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterTwo men and one woman have been discharged since 1st January. Two were under 60 years of age. I regret that it is impossible to predict to what extent it may be necessary further to discharge temporary staff this year.
As for the second part of the Question, I have nothing to add to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for Newport (Mr. Peter Freeman) on 26th February.