Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at on 24 March 1943.
Mr William Kendall
, Grantham
asked the Minister of Production what powers he possesses to compel firms manufacturing for the Departments which come under his Ministry, and which are operating out-of-date or inferior systems or methods of production, to conform to the best systems or methods practised by other firms, and, in default thereof, to allocate their machinery to other more efficiently conducted plants, thereby increasing production and diminishing cost to the taxpayer?
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.
