Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Information. – in the House of Commons at on 16 October 1941.
Sir Geoffrey Mander
, Wolverhampton East
asked the Minister of Information the circumstances under which his Department has altered the Parliamentary reports of the British Broadcasting Corporation; how many times has this been done during this year; and the reasons why?
Mr Ernest Thurtle
, Shoreditch
My right hon. Friend has been advised that during the course of this year, the Ministry of Information has on one occasion asked the B.B.C. not to repeat in their news bulletin a speculation made by an hon. Member about the future policy of a friendly foreign State.
Sir Geoffrey Mander
, Wolverhampton East
Is that the only occasion on which the Minister has intervened at all in this matter?
Mr Ernest Thurtle
, Shoreditch
That is so.
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.
