asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, apart from any question of misconduct or loss of salary, civil servants have at any time been liable to be or have been arbitrarily degraded from the class for which a Civil Service certificate has been granted by the Civil Service Commission to any inferior class; if so, in what circumstances; and whether a civil servant would have been informed of the fact of and the reason for his degradation at the time?

The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Mr. Guinness):

I an afraid that I do not understand what the hon. and gallant Member has in mind when he refers to "arbitrary degradation." If he has any particular case before him and will give me details I will have inquiries made.

Would it not be arbitrary degradation for a man who had received a first-class certificate suddenly to be told that he had not one?

Mr. GUINNESS:

If he had not got a certificate, I take it he cannot have been degraded' from any grade which he had not ever entered.

If I produce cases running into double figures, will the right hon. Gentleman go into them?

Mr. GUINNESS:

I will be glad to go into them.