– in the House of Commons at on 26 November 1934.
Sir George Mitcheson
, St Pancras South West
asked the Minister of Pensions whether Imperial war pensioners in Australia and New Zealand receive payment of their pensions in Australasian and New Zealand currency or in sterling?
Mr George Tryon
, Brighton
Imperial war pensioners in Australia and New Zealand receive the full sterling value of their pensions in Australian or New Zealand currency respectively. The statement which has been made and widely circulated, to the effect that His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom are appropriating the difference of exchange on the respective currencies is wholly untrue.
Sir George Mitcheson
, St Pancras South West
Can the hon. Gentleman state where the question has been raised?
Mr George Tryon
, Brighton
I understand that the statement was made at a congress of the Empire Service League. I only hope that the contradiction will receive as much currency as the original statement, which has done a great amount of harm.
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.
