– in the House of Commons at on 28 May 1941.
Lieut-Colonel Sir Thomas Moore
, Ayr District of Burghs
asked the Prime Minister whether, when there is any Secret Session of this House and the Minister for the Department under discussion happens to be in the House of Lords he will consider, prior to the Session, arranging for the Minister to address Members of this House on any essential features of his departmental working?
Mr Clement Attlee
, Stepney Limehouse
Ministers are always ready to address Members of all parties on the work of their Departments, but I do not think that my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion in relation particularly to matters which are to be debated in Secret Session is a practicable one.
The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.
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.
