Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Coal Mining Industry. – in the House of Commons at on 7 December 1926.
Lieut.-Colonel STANLEY:
No complete record is available containing all the information desired by the hon. Member; but I may say that in the great Majority of the cases reviewed the Ministry are able to concur in the recommendations of their local medical officers, though I am unable to state the exact proportions. I would point out with regard to both questions that the issue in these cases is not merely one of opinion as to assessment, but the question whether, exceptionally, a case which has received a final statutory settlement should be again considered, and a further grant made. On this point, while local medical officers may properly advise as to the medical condition of the case, the decision must rest with the Minister on the advice of his most experienced medical and other advisers. There is no board or similar authority at headquarters which has the duty of reviewing these cases.
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 term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
