– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 5 February 1947.
Sir Arthur Harvey
, Macclesfield
12:00,
5 February 1947
asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many displaced persons were in the British zones in Germany and Austria at the latest convenient date, and what are their nationalities.
Mr John Hynd
, Sheffield, Attercliffe
In January, 1947, there were approximately 269,000 non-German displaced persons in the British zone of Germany and 68,000 in the British zone of Austria. Of those in Germany the Majority are Poles, Latvians, Lithuanians, Esthonians and Yugoslavs. In Austria the majority are Yugoslavs, Poles and Hungarians.
Sir Arthur Harvey
, Macclesfield
What steps is the Minister taking, in co-operation with his colleagues, to see that the poor wretched people are placed in other countries and given suitable work?
Mr John Hynd
, Sheffield, Attercliffe
We have been taking consistent steps to ensure, first of all, their repatriation, where possible, and where that is not possible, their placement elsewhere. The House will be aware that already over two million of these unfortunate people have been repatriated from Germany alone. In the last quarter of last year, they were repatriated from Germany at the rate of 3,600 a week. Unfortunately, on account of the present weather conditions, we have had to suspend the operation, but we are exploring very closely and urgently the question of placing in other places those people who are unwilling or unable to be repatriated.
Mr Charles Byers
, Dorset Northern
Has there been a proper classification of these displaced persons to see for what jobs they are properly fitted?
Mr John Hynd
, Sheffield, Attercliffe
Yes, Sir. The question of the trade and professional qualifications of these people is being examined at the present time with a view to assisting and expediting attempts being made to have them settled in other countries.
Mr Samuel Silverman
, Nelson and Colne
With regard to those displaced persons who are non-repatriable, is it not the case that the International Refugee Organisation made inquiries of all countries in the world for places of refuge for them, with very disappointing results?
Mr John Hynd
, Sheffield, Attercliffe
It is certainly true that the results so far are disappointing, but some results are beginning to show, and we already have resettlement missions in Germany examining the possibilities of moving large numbers of these people.
The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
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.
