Civil Service Commission
Alencon Link Basingstoke Hants RG21 1JB
Telephone 0256 29222 ext.
GTN 2083
Ms SE Unsworth
Overseas Development Administration
Overseas Manpower Services
Abercrombie House
Eaglesham Road
East Kilbride
GLASGOW G75 8EA
Your reference OMD208/217/01
Our reference SEC 120/418/01.
Date 4 June 1985
Dear
Ms Unsworth,
CONCESSIONS FOR CANDIDATES WITH SERVICE
SERVICE IN HM OVERSEAS
OVERSEAS CIVIL
1.
In 1981, we told your department and the
the Ministry of Defence that we were reviewing the age and
age and qualifications concessions allowed for candidates with recent
recent service in HM
in Forces or HM Overseas Civil Service who wish to apply for certain appointments in the Civil Service. We said that We were including in the review the special Executive and Clerical Officer recruitment schemes which were restricted to such candidates. Your department was fairly relaxed about the proposals (Mr Pettit's letter of 18 November 1981) and, following a discussion between ODA, MOD and
ODA, MOD and ourselves in September 1981, it was agreed that there was no case for the continued running of the special competitions which were subsequently discontinued. At the MOD's request, however, we introduced age and educational qualification concessions for HMF and HMOCS candidates in our normal EO recruitment scheme, and agreed to continue with the corresponding concessions which already featured in some of our other recruitment schemes, on the understanding that all the concessions would be reviewed after a few years.
2.
Accordingly, we are now reviewing the position again. Since the earlier agreement, the ODA have in fact agreed to the abolition of age concessions for HMOCS candidates (Mr Rapley's letter of 29 June 1982 refers). Your department's interest is, therefore, confined to the two recruitment schemes whose regulations contain qualifications concessions
concessions for HMOCS candidates. The schemes are those for Executive Officer posts in the Home Civil Service (and equivalent posts in the Diplomatic Service) and for Management Trainees in the Department of Employment. The reasons why we wish to discontinue the concessions were set out in the earlier correspondence, and we believe them to be equally valid now. And the actual use of the concessions by HMOCS candidates still seems to be very small indeed. The Department of Employment have told us they agree that the concessions should be removed as their Management Trainee scheme is concerned.
far
that
as