Oral Answers to Questions — Aliens. – in the House of Commons at on 4 August 1924.
Major Cecil Dudgeon
, Galloway
asked the Minister of Labour the number of alien waiters employed within the area of Greater London, and the number of waiters of British nationality within such area who are registered at Employment Exchanges as being out of employment?
Miss Margaret Bondfield
, Northampton
I regret that the information requested by the hon. and gallant Member is not available The hon. and gallant Member will remember that, in reply to a question on 4th June by the hon. Member for the Eastern Division of Kingston-upon-Hull (Mr. Lumley), it was stated that, according to the 1921 Census, there were 3,536 foreign waiters in England and Wales, and 100 foreign or naturalised waiters in Scotland.
Mr James Hogge
, Edinburgh East
Can the Parliamentary Secretary tell us of any restaurant in London of which she has personal knowledge where there are no alien waiters?
Lieut-Colonel Hon. Cuthbert James
, Bromley
The Parliamentary Secretary has told us that she regretted that no information was available, but surely the Department exists in order to provide such information?
Miss Margaret Bondfield
, Northampton
In reply to the last supplementary question, may I say that, to get out these specific statistics would mean a very great deal of work for a staff that is already overworked, and the Minister does not feel that it is incumbent upon him to call for this particular Return at this particular juncture.
Mr Henry Lorimer
, Derbyshire Southern
Would it not be better to have British employed instead of aliens, and would it not, therefore, be of great advantage to have these details?
Mr Benjamin Smith
, Bermondsey Rotherhithe
Is it not a fact that the restaurants used mostly by hon. Gentlemen opposite are crowded with alien waiters?
Lieut-Colonel Hon. Cuthbert James
, Bromley
On a point of Order. Is it in order for an hon. Member to make an imputation of that kind?
Mr John Whitley
, Halifax
No; it was quite uncalled for.
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.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
