Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture. – in the House of Commons at on 16 October 1941.
Miss Lloyd George:
asked the Minister of Health whether he can make a statement as to the appointment of a committee on the salaries of nurses?
Mr Ernest Brown
, Leith
I have appointed Lord Rushcliffe as Chairman of the Committee which I have set up for the purpose of drawing up, as soon as possible, agreed scales of salaries and emoluments for State registered nurses employed in England and Wales in Hospitals and in the Public Health Services, including the service of district nursing, and for student nurses in hospitals approved as training schools by the General Nursing Council for England and Wales. The Committee will consist of two panels, one representing employers and the other representing employees, of equal numbers. At my request the following organisations have agreed to nominate representatives to serve on these panels:
| Employers' Panel. | No. of representatives. | |
| British Hospitals Association (in association with King Edward's Hospital Fund for London and the Nuffield Trust) | … | 6 |
| County Councils Association | … | 4 |
| Association of Municipal Corporations | … | 4 |
| London County Council | … | 3 |
| Urban District Councils Association | … | 1 |
| Rural District Councils Association | … | 1 |
| Queen's Institute of District Nursing | … | 1 |
| 20 | ||
Mr Ernest Brown
, Leith
I think, in about a fortnight.
Sir Frederick Messer
, Tottenham South
Does the right hon. Gentleman not think it desirable to have a representative of the male nurses on the Committee?
Mr Rhys Davies
, Westhoughton
Are nurses employed in mental institutions covered by this inquiry?
Mr Ernest Brown
, Leith
The class of nurses covered will be, as I said, State registered nurses employed in hospitals and in the public health services. Some nurses are already covered by agreements made through the National Joint Council for Local Authorities; others are not.
Sir Stanley Reed
, Aylesbury
Will the Minister direct the attention of the Committee to the desirability of making a provident rather than a pensions fund which would operate more equitably in those cases?
Mr Ernest Brown
, Leith
I must leave the Committee, under the terms of their reference, to agree on the best method of dealing with this vital subject.
Miss Ward:
asked the Minister of Health whether the committee he is setting up to make recommendations with regard to salaries payable to nurses will have powers to make recommendations with regard to nurses employed in industry?
Mr Ernest Brown
, Leith
No. It would not, in my view, be appropriate to refer to this Committee the salaries of this class of nurse.
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.
