Defence written question – answered at on 9 July 2008.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures his Department uses to ensure equal opportunities in relation to staff secondments to the Department.
The principle that appointments to the civil service must be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition has been the basis of civil service recruitment policy for over a century. It underpins the maintenance of a civil service which is highly competent, politically impartial, has high standards of integrity and which avoids unfair discrimination.
The Ministry of Defence can however waiver this policy if the secondment is part of an interchange programme or other exchange arrangement, is intended to foster contact with a particular body with which the Department has, or is developing, links, or the source of supply is very restricted. These secondments are intended to be temporary (normally up to three years, but not exceeding five years), and must not affect the employment status of the secondee.
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