asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the duties of a personnel assessors at the Government Communications Headquarters at Cheltenham; how many people are employed in this capacity; and what is their usual tour of duty.

In a Press statement released on 8th January 1952 the then Government announced the introduction of the positive vetting procedure to ensure the reliability of Government staff employed on secret work. A number of personnel security assessor posts have been established at the Government Communications Headquarters at Higher Executive Officer level, as part of the machinery for implementing this procedure. The holders of these posts have authority to grant positive vetting clearance but can only recommend withholding or withdrawal, the decision on these being taken at progressively higher levels of management. There is no fixed term of duty for personnel security assessors.