Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Information. – in the House of Commons at on 10 December 1941.
Mr Lewis Silkin
, Camberwell Peckham
asked the Minister of Information whether his attention has been drawn to a memorandum, consisting of seven sheets, summarising Sir Bernard Pares' Penguin "Russia," which has been circulated to persons on the panel of speakers and others by the meetings officer of London region; how many such memoranda have been circulated; and whether, as such a summary is valueless, he will take steps to prevent in future this wasteful expenditure of time, labour and paper?
Mr Brendan Bracken
, Paddington North
This memorandum is in a form intended as background information for speakers who may be called upon to deal with the subject, and 450 copies have been distributed mainly for this purpose. Since it was prepared by Sir Bernard Pares himself at a time when his Penguin book on Russia was out of print, I cannot agree that it is valueless.
Mr Lewis Silkin
, Camberwell Peckham
Has the right hon. Gentleman seen the memorandum himself?
Mr Brendan Bracken
, Paddington North
Yes, Sir, I have. It was prepared by the author, and I should have thought that he was the best judge as to its efficacy.
Mr William Gallacher
, Fife Western
Will not the Minister consider getting Comrade Harry Pollitt to prepare a memorandum or make a statement over the B.B.C.? Why does the Minister refuse to allow Harry Pollitt to make a speech over the wireless?
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.
