Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at on 4 March 1929.
Mr William Thorne
, West Ham Plaistow
asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, the name of the firm who contract for the cleaning of the windows of the Palace of Westminster; whether the employés of the firm are engaged on day, task or piece work; the rate of pay and number of hours worked per day; and if the firm in question are covered by the Fair Wage Clause affecting Government contracts?
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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.
