Oral Answers to Questions — Transport. – in the House of Commons at on 21 February 1940.
Mr. A. Jenkins asked:
the Minister of Transport whether there is adequate machinery for ensuring that the wages paid to persons employed on trunk roads are on a fair basis; and, if not, what steps is he taking to set up such machinery?
Captain Euan Wallace
, Hornsey
Work on trunk roads is carried out partly by direct labour and partly by contract. Direct labour is employed by a highway authority acting as my agent for the maintenance and repair of the trunk road, and a condition of the agency agreement is that the wages and conditions of service shall correspond with those of the authority's employés of a similar grade and engaged upon similar work. In the case of contract works, a condition is included in the standard form of contract providing that the principle of the fair wages resolution shall be observed by contractors.
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.
