Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Coal Industry – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 1 May 1947.
Mr Victor Yates
, Birmingham, Ladywood
12:00,
1 May 1947
Is the Minister aware that there is considerable dissatisfaction over this in the city of Birmingham and that in some cases people have been compelled to trade with coal merchants who live five miles away in preference to those living 10o yards away? There seems to be no sensible arrangement in this at all.
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.
