Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Supply. – in the House of Commons at on 31 January 1940.
Rear-Admiral Tufton Beamish
, Lewes
asked the Minister of Supply what are the steps, and the results of them, that he is taking to discover alternatives to timber for use as parts of military hutments and for similar armament purposes; and whether the timber now used for hutments is so cut and fitted as to render it afterwards adaptable for purposes other than Army requirements?
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.
