Oral Answers to Questions — British Army. – in the House of Commons at on 8 April 1941.
Major-General Sir Alfred Knox
, Wycombe
asked the Secretary of State for War the scale of clothing issued to German prisoners of war in Britain and how this scale compares with the issues by the German Government to British prisoners of war in Germany?
Mr Richard Law
, Kingston upon Hull South West
I propose, with my hon. and gallant Friend's permission, to circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement showing the scale of clothing issued to German prisoners of war in this country and the scale which is stated by the German Government to have been issued to British prisoners of war. I am not satisfied, however, that British prisoners of war have, in fact, received the full scale, and further inquiries are being made, through the Protecting Power.
Major-General Sir Alfred Knox
, Wycombe
In any case, is not our scale very much better than theirs?
Mr Richard Law
, Kingston upon Hull South West
For the ordinary prisoner there is not much to chose between them. Where prisoners are at work, our scale is definitely better.
Sir William Davison
, Kensington South
Will the Minister see that adequate warm clothing is supplied during the winter months to the officer prisoners who were removed to Poland?
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.
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.
