Oral Answers to Questions — Military Training. – in the House of Commons at on 5 June 1939.
Mr. Davidson:
asked the Prime Minister whether he has fully considered the resolution forwarded to him by the Scottish Daily Newspaper Society, on 24th May, referring to the Official Secrets Act; and, if so, whether he has any statement to make?
Mr Neville Chamberlain
, Birmingham, Edgbaston
I have considered the resolution referred to, and the attitude of His Majesty's Government towards the points raised in the resolution will be fully explained during the Debate on the Second Reading of the Official Secrets Bill. At the moment I can only say that the Government are unable to agree to any proposal for extending the scope of the Bill.
Mr. Davidson:
In view of the fact that the Prime Minister himself, in answer to questions in the House, definitely assured the House that the Bill would apply and extend only to questions of espionage, and in view of the fact that the Bill does nothing of the kind, will not the Prime Minister take steps to see to it that this is made clear in the Bill before it comes up for Second Reading?
Mr Neville Chamberlain
, Birmingham, Edgbaston
The powers under Section 6 of the old Act have been confined in the Bill to cases of espionage.
The Second Reading is the most important stage for a Bill. It is when the main purpose of a Bill is discussed and voted on. If the Bill passes it moves on to the Committee Stage. Further information can be obtained from factsheet L1 on the UK Parliament website.
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.
