Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Works – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 27 January 1947.
Commander Sir Douglas Marshall
, Bodmin
12:00,
27 January 1947
asked the Minister of Works what has been the price paid for Belgian bricks; what quantity of these bricks have been imported; and at what price they are sold to British contractors.
Mr George Tomlinson
, Farnworth
The estimated average cost of English sized Belgian bricks unloaded at U.K. port is £8 per thousand. For Belgian sized bricks the figure is £6 4s. per thousand. Up to date the approximate numbers shipped are 50 million and eight million respectively. The English sized bricks are sold at the controlled prices, which vary from area to area, for comparable types of home-produced bricks; the Belgian sized bricks are sold at three-quarters of these figures. In both cases the cost of carriage from port to site is extra.
Commander Sir Douglas Marshall
, Bodmin
Is it not a fact that the right hon. Gentleman's Department was offered, in the early part of 1946, 80 million Belgian bricks at a price of 75s.-79s. per thousand, free alongside, London, which he refused?
Mr George Tomlinson
, Farnworth
No. I do not think so.
Sir Waldron Smithers
, Orpington
Were the bricks bulk purchased by the Government?
Sir Waldron Smithers
, Orpington
Worse luck.
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.
