Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland – in the House of Commons at on 2 May 1944.
Mr William Brown
, Rugby
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware of the shortage of staff at His Majesty's prison, Barlinnie, Glasgow; and whether he will take steps to secure that the number of qualified officers is increased as early as possible.
Mr. Johnston:
Yes, Sir. And I am making every effort, in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour to recruit suitable temporary staff to fill the vacancies.
Mr William Gallacher
, Fife Western
Will the right hon. Gentleman not introduce the system that operates at Wakefield and organise prisoners in groups, with a prisoner in charge of each group, and so to a great extent relieve the necessity of an officer?
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.
