Part of Oral Answers to Questions — National Finance. – in the House of Commons at on 30 January 1940.
Mr. De la Bère:
Is my right hon. Friend aware that the question of credits to agriculture has been under consideration by the Government for four years? Is he aware that the Minister of Agriculture has responsibility but no power, and that the Treasury have every time stymied, deliberately stymied, all initiative on the part of the Minister of Agriculture to get something done for the agricultural community? Will he give him some help in this matter?
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.
