Oral Answers to Questions — Minister for Co-Ordination of Defence. – in the House of Commons at on 1 February 1940.
Mr Henry Croft
, Bournemouth
asked the Prime Minister whether the duties of the Minister for Co-ordination of Defence are still as defined in paragraph 47 of the statement relating to defence presented to Parliament in March, 1936 (Cmd. 5107); and generally for information as to the Minister's present duties?
Mr Neville Chamberlain
, Birmingham, Edgbaston
As the reply to this Question is of some length, I propose, with my hon. and gallant Friend's permission, to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
The peace-time duties of the Minister for Co-ordination of Defence, as set out in paragraph 47 of the Statement Relating to Defence, presented to Parliament in March, 1936 (Cmd. 5107), were mainly concerned with the work of the Committee of Imperial Defence. In order to explain the Minister's present duties, it is therefore necessary first to explain certain important changes which were made on the outbreak of war, and to describe in broad outline the machinery set up for the supreme direction of the war.
In war a system is required which combines rapid executive action with the maintenance of Cabinet responsibility and control. As the House is aware, the Committee of Imperial Defence is an advisory and consultative body whose findings on all-important matters must be approved by the Cabinet before they can become effective. Such a system is clearly unsuited for war conditions and, at the outbreak of war, the Committee of Imperial Defence was therefore merged in the War Cabinet organisation, a step which was also taken in the Great War. A number of committees of the Committee of Imperial Defence which had been required for peace-time preparation were likewise either suspended, or merged into other organisations.
Most of the committees of the peacetime Cabinet and of the Committee of Imperial Defence which have been retained as part of the War Cabinet organisation, together with the new committees set up since the outbreak of war, are now organised in five main groups, each comprising a main ministerial committee and a number of other committees. These five main groups are as follow:—
As regards the four last groups, the House has already been informed of the setting up of a Home Policy Committee under the chairmanship of the Lord Privy Seal; of the existence of a Civil Defence Committee presided over by the Minister of Home Security; of the Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy presided over by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and of the Ministerial Priority Committee under the chairmanship of the Minister for Co-ordination of Defence.
The Ministerial Committee on Military Co-ordination was set up by the War Cabinet in October, 1939. Its members are:
Its terms of reference are as follow:to keep under constant review, on behalf of the War Cabinet, the main factors in the strategical situation and the progress of operations, and to make recommendations from time to time to the War Cabinet Os to the general conduct of the war.The terms of reference of the Chiefs of Staff Committee are:to advise the War Cabinet on any matter affecting or affected by the military aspect of the conduct of the war, and to investigate and consider in common all matters referred to the Committee by the War Cabinet.
The existence of the Military Co-ordination Committee does not, of course, alter the normal channel by which the Chiefs of Staff Committee submit their reports direct to the War Cabinet. It is, however, sometimes found convenient for such reports to be referred to the Military Co-ordination Committee for detailed ministerial examination either before or after presentation to the War Cabinet.
From the above outline of the machinery that has been set up for the supreme direction of the war it will be seen that the duties of the Minister for Co-ordination of Defence include the chairmanship of the Military Co-ordination Committee and of the Ministerial Priority Committee. As before the outbreak of war, my Noble Friend's time is not fully occupied with the work of specific committees, but he deals from time to time with a number of matters which though not susceptible to precise definition relate to inter-service co-operation. It is, of course, an essential feature of the War Cabinet organisation that it should comprise a certain number of ministers who are in a position to devote their special attention to the special problems which arise from time to time.
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.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
