Part of Orders of the Day — Ministry of Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. – in the House of Commons at on 8 December 1920.
Mr Thomas Grundy
, Rother Valley
I beg to second the Motion. I should like to express my surprise that the Minister of Health will accept none of these new Clauses. One would have thought that anything adding to the efficiency and usefulness of this Bill would have been welcomed. In the first place, this Clause proposes that in every district an inspection of the property shall take place not less than once a year. Together with the hon. Member who moved the Clause, I can, if necessary, give some experiences in regard to the inspection of houses in various localities. There was one, especially, where an inspection showed that hundreds of houses were both overcrowded and unfit for human habitation. This information is absolutely essential if the health of the people is to be safeguarded in the manner which I am perfectly sure the Minister of Health desires. In addition to that, it gives power to the right hon. Gentleman to see that those who make the inspection are properly qualified, so that the results of their inspection may be taken as fairly reliable data upon which the municipalities can act. It also pro poses to give him power to see that the reports of the inspectors are dealt with properly. It appears to me that all the powers which this new Clause would give would tend to the betterment of housing condition and would materially assist in improving the health of the people. I am surprised to hear the right hon. Gentleman state that under no circumstances will any of these new Clauses be adopted. From a long experience, I am sure that this one would be very helpful, and I appeal to the right hon. Gentleman to allow, at any rate, this new Clause to become part of the Bill, believing, as I do, that it would be beneficial to the people generally.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
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.