Oral Answers to Questions — National Finance. – in the House of Commons at on 24 May 1937.
Mr. De la Bère:
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer whether he can give the House some assurance that it is the continued intention of the Government to keep money cheap by various methods and, at the same time, what safeguards are to he employed to prevent speculation?
Mr John Colville
, Midlothian and Peeblesshire Northern
I would refer my hon. Friend, as regards the first part of the question, to the reply which I gave him on 12th April last, and, as regards the second part of the question, to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Sir N. Grattan-Doyle) on 6th May.
Mr John Colville
, Midlothian and Peeblesshire Northern
Perhaps my hon. Friend will look at the answer to which I refer, and if it does not satisfy him I hope that he will not hesitate to put down another question.
Mr. De la Bère:
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer whether he can assure the House that the Government have safeguards to prevent a sudden and uncontrolled rise in money rates; and what steps are being taken to maintain a free money market and provide a constant check to uncontrolled rises in money rates?
Mr John Colville
, Midlothian and Peeblesshire Northern
My right hon. Friend does not share my hon. Friend's fears as to the possibility of a sudden and uncontrolled rise in money rates, and he has no reason to suppose that the situation is such as to need any exceptional precautions at the present time.
Mr. De la Bare:
May I ask the Minister whether he will bear in mind that I will return to the charge?
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.
