§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will ensure that the linguistic situation in Wales is taken into consideration when appointments to his Department are made; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsYes. The guiding principle with appointments to posts in all parts of the Civil Service is that the best available candidate should be selected. This is, however in no way inconsistent with giving appropriate weight in the selection process to ability to speak Welsh in cases where this would be an advantage in undertaking the duties of the post concerned taking account of the linguistic situation in Wales.