Oral Answers to Questions — Unemployment. – in the House of Commons at on 13 March 1929.
Mr Wilfred Wellock
, Stourbridge
asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the growing indebtedness of the unemployment insurance fund to the Exchequer, it is proposed to increase the Government contribution to the unemployment insurance fund?
Sir Henry Betterton
, Rushcliffe
No, Sir, the contribution to the Unemployment Fund is fixed by statute.
Mr Wilfred Wellock
, Stourbridge
Is it the intention of the Department to pass on a debt of £40,000,000 on the Fund to the next Government? Could not the matter be dealt with by inserting a Clause in the revised Unemployment Insurance Bill?
Sir Henry Betterton
, Rushcliffe
No, Sir. In the opinion of my right hon. Friend, such a Clause is unnecessary.
Mr Thomas Shaw
, Preston
Will the hon. Member consult with the Chancellor of the exchequer and try to persuade him, seeing that he has taken so many balances, to take this balance?
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.
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.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
