Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Supply. – in the House of Commons at on 31 January 1940.
Mr Ian Hannah
, Wolverhampton Bilston
asked the Minister of Supply whether his attention has been called to the fact that many industries in the Wolverhampton area are in serious difficulties from the almost complete stoppage of building; and what action does he propose to take?
Mr John Llewellin
, Uxbridge
My right hon. Friend has no direct responsibility for the building industry and he is not aware of the position referred to. If however there has been curtailment of building operations in Wolverhampton, and it has been caused by shortage of building material, and the buildings are needed for work essential to the needs of the nation in war, my right hon. Friend would be glad to be informed of the details in order that they may be placed before the Works and Buildings Sub-Committee of the Ministerial Priority Committee of the Cabinet.
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 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.
