§ Mr. Carmichaelasked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the upper age limit for police recruits is significantly lower, for both men and women in Scotland than in other parts of the United Kingdom; and what estimate he has made of the number of recruits lost to the service by the application of this rule.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellPolice regulations provide that, in England and Wales as in Scotland, male recruits should normally be under 30 years of age. The same limit applies to women in Scotland: in England and Wales women recruits must be under 35. This difference has existed at least since 1949 when Scotland adopted the recomendations on this matter of the Committee on Police Conditions of Service. Chief Constables have discretion to set the limit aside.