Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture. – in the House of Commons at on 6 February 1939.
Mr Herwald Ramsbotham
, Lancaster
I have been asked to reply. My right hon. Friends the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Secretary of State for Scotland propose to invite representatives of the National Union of Agricultural Workers and the Transport and General Workers' Union, so far as farm workers in England are concerned, and the Scottish Farm Servants' Section of the Transport and General Workers' Union to confer with them at an early date.
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.
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.
