Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture. – in the House of Commons at on 14 December 1939.
Mr Emanuel Shinwell
, Seaham
asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can give an estimate of the acreage of land not being cultivated but which is capable of cultivation; and whether he proposes to take effective measures so that all available land should be used for the production of foodstuffs?
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.
