Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland. – in the House of Commons at on 6 February 1929.
Mr Robert Dennison
, Birmingham King's Norton
asked the Minister of Labour what action, if any, his Department has taken to effect a setlement of the dispute between the owners and the operatives in the manufactured iron trade in the West of Scot- land; is he aware that a board of conciliation and arbitration has been in existence for 32 years and that the practice of the industry has been to settle differences without stoppage of work; that arbitration has been refused by the employers and that the workpeople have been locked out; and, seeing that (although certain of these manufacturers have been requested by the Admiralty to tender for contracts) the fair wages Clause is not being observed, he will take immediate steps to deal with the situation?
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.
