Oral Answers to Questions — Royal Air Force – in the House of Commons at on 14 October 1942.
Mr Oliver Simmonds
, Birmingham Duddeston
asked the Secretary of State for Air whether, in view of the ascertained results of our bombing raids over Germany, he will consider whether, instead of the more frequent employment of smaller forces, it is not desirable to concentrate large numbers of aircraft against specific areas, even if at longer intervals?
Mr Harold Balfour
, Isle of Thanet
I can assure my hon. Friend that his suggestion will be borne in mind.
Mr Oliver Simmonds
, Birmingham Duddeston
Will the Minister bear in mind that Bomber Command is the only arm of our Services which is able to strike at Germans in Germany, and will he therefore see that all the resources of Bomber Command are utilised to give the maximum effect?
Mr Harold Balfour
, Isle of Thanet
I am sure that the Commander-in-Chief, Bomber Command, will take note of what my hon. Friend has said.
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.
