– in the House of Commons at on 9 September 1941.
Mr Richard Stokes
, Ipswich
asked the Secretary of State for War what is the rank and the position occupied by the honourable and gallant Member for Preston (Major Randolph Churchill) on the staff of the Minister of State in Cairo?
Mr David Margesson
, Rugby
The hon. and gallant Member for Preston is not employed on the staff of the Minister of State. He has been appointed a General Staff Officer second grade, General Staff (Intelligence), at General Headquarters, Middle East. This appointment carries with it the rank of major.
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.
