– in the House of Commons at on 4 July 1939.
Mr William Gallacher
, Fife Western
asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether His Majesty's Government will take advantage of the presence in London of the Finance Minister of New Zealand, in order to discuss with him matters of mutual interest to this country and New Zealand; and whether it is the policy of His Majesty's Government to extend to Dominion Governments facilities in regard to loans, at least as favourable as any that have been granted to non-Empire countries?
Mr Thomas Inskip
, Fareham
I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Chancellor of the exchequer on 21st June to the hon. Member for Govan (Mr. Maclean). I am not at present in a position to add anything to that reply, except to say that the discussions with Mr. Nash are continuing.
Mr William Gallacher
, Fife Western
Is the Minister not aware of the desirability, or even the necessity, of the Government taking such steps as these in order to counter the unscrupulous attack which has been made on the New Zealand Government by the Bank of England?
Mr Thomas Inskip
, Fareham
That is a statement which should not pass without repudiation.
Mr Campbell Stephen
, Glasgow Camlachie
Can the House have an assurance that New Zealand will get as good terms as any non-Empire country?
Mr Thomas Inskip
, Fareham
I am sure that it is the policy of His Majesty's Government to give as good terms as possible to New Zealand, and in any case better than any non-Empire country.
Mr William Gallacher
, Fife Western
Will the right: hon Gentleman ask Mr. Nash his opinion of the Bank of England?
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.
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.
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