Part of Oral Answers to Questions — India – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 17 March 1947.
Mr. R. A. Butter:
Is not the Minister aware that continued delay in making an announcement on this subject is causing grave anxiety to people who wish to remain in India as members of these Services; is he further aware that nothing concrete is apparently coming out of his recent Mission, and will be persuade the Government to come to a decision satisfactory to these men as soon as possible?
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.
