Oral Answers to Questions — Armed Forces – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 12 March 1947.
Lieut-Colonel Granville Sharp
, Spen Valley
12:00,
12 March 1947
asked the Minister of Defence the estimated number of men and women who will be serving in each of the three Services on 30th June, 1947.
Mr Albert Alexander
, Sheffield, Hillsborough
I regret it is not possible to give an accurate estimate of the expected strengths of the Forces at an intermediate date, such as 30th June, because there are many variable factors, such as the rate of intake of voluntary recruits, short-term re-engagements, and voluntary deferments. I do not expect, however, that the figures will exceed, for the Royal Navy, 194,000; the army, 795,000; and the Royal Air Force, 323,000.
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.
