HL Deb 15 December 1994 vol 559 cc137-8WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to their Answer of 7 December 1994 (HL Deb., col. WA97), whether they will publish special rules relating to national extraction (as distinct from nationality or residence) governing employment in the Civil Service, and the similar rules governing eligibility for service in the Armed Forces; and, if not, why not.

The Lord Privy Seal (Viscount Cranborne)

The special rules relating to national extraction (as distinct from nationality or residence) governing employment in the Civil Service are set out in the numbered paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of a two-page explanatory document which is already available and is issued in response to enquiries from the public. Copies of this document have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

The following rules normally apply to recruits to the Armed Forces.

  1. (a) At all times since birth they have been either Commonwealth citizens or citizens of the Irish Republic (see note below).
  2. (b) They were born in a country which is (or then was) within the Commonwealth or in the Irish Republic.
  3. (c) Each of their parents was born in such a country or in the Irish Republic and have always been, or (if deceased) always were, Commonwealth citizens or citizens of the Irish Republic.

Note: In these rules the term "Commonwealth citizen" includes a British citizen, a British Dependent Territories citizen, a British overseas citizen a British subject under the British Nationality Act 1981 and a citizen of an independent Commonwealth country.

The above rules apply to applicants to the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, officers and some non-commissioned specialisations in the Army. For most non-commissioned specialisations in the Army, the requirement at (c) above is not an essential qualification.