Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Civil Defence. – in the House of Commons at on 19 June 1941.
Miss Eleanor Rathbone
, Combined English Universities
Will the Minister consider cases that I will submit to him of men recommended for release who have been classified under Category 19, which is an extremely strict Category and which is only recommended for those who have been permanently, over a number of years, opposed to the Nazi system? In-spite of that fact these men, and one in particular, have been recommended for release under that category six months ago, but are still behind barbed wire and not allowed to interview anyone except in the presence of armed witnesses?
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.
