– in the House of Commons at on 8 December 1920.
Sir Henry Betterton
, Rushcliffe
asked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been called to the practice of various Departments of submitting Supplementary Estimates for the sanction of the House to expenditure which has been already incurred; and whether, seeing that this practice deprives the House of all control over such expenditure, he will take steps to ensure that Estimates be in all cases presented before the money is expended?
Mr Stanley Baldwin
, Bewdley
The Treasury are constantly impressing on Departments the importance of obtaining Parliamentary sanction as soon as it becomes apparent that provision in an existing Estimate will be insufficient. The exigencies of Parliamentary procedure make it impossible to secure that in every case such sanction can be obtained in advance; but it is the recognised rule that this should be done, and I attach great importance to the observance of the rule.
Sir William Davison
, Kensington South
Is it the practice for a Department to inform the Treasury as soon as they see that the Estimate which they have obtained from this House is likely to be exceeded?
Mr Stanley Baldwin
, Bewdley
Oh, certainly.
Lieut-Colonel Penry Williams
, Middlesbrough East
Is any action taken with regard to an official who fails to submit an Estimate in time for this House? Is any disciplinary action taken against him?
Mr Stanley Baldwin
, Bewdley
The responsibility primarily rests on the Minister.
Lieut-Colonel Penry Williams
, Middlesbrough East
Is anyone discharged for a breach of duty in this matter?
Mr John Remer
, Macclesfield
Will the right hon. Gentleman see into the particular case arising out of this matter in regard to the Ministry of Food?
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
