Oral Answers to Questions — Military Service. – in the House of Commons at on 16 January 1940.
Sir Geoffrey Mander
, Wolverhampton East
asked the Prime Minister whether he is now able to make a statement with reference to the appointment of a member of the War Cabinet as Minister of Economic Co-ordination, with responsibility for all the economic activities of the Government in furtherance of the war?
Mr Neville Chamberlain
, Birmingham, Edgbaston
I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to him on the 7th December last, to which I have nothing to add.
Sir Geoffrey Mander
, Wolverhampton East
Cannot the Prime Minister receive representations from the Association of British Chambers of Commerce and other bodies, and would not the present reconstruction of the Government provide a suitable opportunity for making this change?
Mr Neville Chamberlain
, Birmingham, Edgbaston
The answer to the first question is, Yes; and to the second. No.
Sir Geoffrey Mander
, Wolverhampton East
In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply I beg to give notice that I will raise the matter on the Adjournment.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at 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.
