Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Supply – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 24 February 1947.
Mr Somerville Hastings
, Barking
12:00,
24 February 1947
asked the Minister of Supply how much penicillin in mega units is now produced in this country and/or imported per month.
Mr John Wilmot
, Deptford
Current production averages 252,000 mega units a month. Five mega units were imported in January for experimental purposes.
Mr Somerville Hastings
, Barking
Is the amount being produced in this country steadily increasing or not?
Mr John Wilmot
, Deptford
It is steadily increasing, and the amount now produced is sufficient to meet all prescriptions, with a small surplus for export.
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.
