Oral Answers to Questions — Unemployment. – in the House of Commons at on 17 September 1931.
Dr Marion Phillips
, Sunderland
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer whether any provision will be made from public funds to meet the increase in administrative charges to local authorities consequent upon the new duty to be placed upon them of inquiries into the affairs of unemployed persons no longer in receipt of transitional benefit?
Mr Philip Snowden
, Colne Valley
It is anticipated that in many cases the local authorities will not need to incur additional expenditure in this connection. It has appeared from discussions with representatives of the authorities that some authorities will desire themselves to bear any extra expense they are put to. In other cases, however, they will be unable to bear it and provision will be made by Order in Council for the Minister of Labour to make them a grant in respect of approved additional expenditure.
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.
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.
