Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Supply. – in the House of Commons at on 9 April 1941.
Mr James Wootton-Davies
, Heywood and Radcliffe
asked the Minister of Supply whether the £500,000 a year to be paid to the Manchester and Liverpool Cotton Association will be the total cost of purchasing all cotton imported?
Sir Andrew Duncan
, City of London
Agreement has been reached in principle with the Manchester and Liverpool Cotton Associations under which a company set up by them will purchase, sell and distribute imported cotton on behalf of the Government. Details are being worked out, but the fee of £500,000 will cover all purchasing, selling and distributive costs apart from certain disbursements on such items as storage and transport.
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.
