§ Mr. Derek FosterTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what were the Government's objectives in introducing nationality restrictions on employment in the civil service in June 1996; [5248]
(2) if the Government will scrap the nationality bar and restore the rights of Irish and Commonwealth citizens in applying for civil service posts; [5249]
(3) what legal provisions govern the rights of Irish and Commonwealth citizens to apply for posts in the UK civil service. [5250]
§ Mr. FreemanThe changes announced in my written answer to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 1 March 1996,Official Report, column 771, took effect on 1 June 1996 and I have no plans to reverse them.
The legal provisions governing the rights of Irish and Commonwealth citizens to apply for posts in the UK civil service are as follows. The Aliens' Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919 prohibits the appointment of any alien.
to any office or place in the Civil Service of the State".Because of Great Britain's historic connections with Ireland and the Commonwealth, the definition of "alien" did not include British protected persons or the Irish, even when the Republic of Ireland left the Commonwealth in 1948. Civil service posts were accordingly open to Commonwealth nationals and citizens of the Republic of Ireland. Having regard to the conditions at the time of their enactment, the concept of "alien" in the 1919 Act included those who are now nationals of European Economic Area member states. Under the British Nationality Act 1981, an "alien" isa person who is neither a Community citizen nor a British protected person nor a citizen of the Republic of Ireland".The June 1996 changes were made under the Minister's powers in the Civil Service Order in Council in order to protect the UK's right, which every other EEA member state has, to be able to reserve its core posts for its own nationals.