Oral Answers to Questions — Trade and Commerce – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 8 July 1947.
Sir Waldron Smithers
, Orpington
12:00,
8 July 1947
asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give an estimate of the cost to the taxpayer in staff, wear and tear of equipment, and paper and postage, of answering 1,125,000 letters a month.
Mr John Belcher
, Sowerby
The figure of 1,225,000 letters a month covers the whole of the Board of Trade's correspondence, including statistical returns and applications for licences, patents, payment of war damage, and so forth. I regret that I can give no estimate of the over-all cost of answering this correspondence, since the proportion of staff time devoted to this purpose varies so widely according to subject. The cost incurred by the Board for letter paper, envelopes and postage is estimated at about £105,000 a year.
Mr John Belcher
, Sowerby
I can only assure the hon. Gentleman that we have no desire whatever to control anyone's private life. All we are concerned with is answering the legitimate inquiries of the public.
Sir Waldron Smithers
, Orpington
; Am I in Order, Mr. Speaker, in asking whether the answer given by the hon. Gentleman to the effect that he does not know the expense of this is not most disgraceful?
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.
Whitehall is a wide road that runs through the heart of Westminster, starting at Trafalgar square and ending at Parliament. It is most often found in Hansard as a way of referring to the combined mass of central government departments, although many of them no longer have buildings on Whitehall itself.
The Speaker is an MP who has been elected to act as Chairman during debates in the House of Commons. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the rules laid down by the House for the carrying out of its business are observed. It is the Speaker who calls MPs to speak, and maintains order in the House. He or she acts as the House's representative in its relations with outside bodies and the other elements of Parliament such as the Lords and the Monarch. The Speaker is also responsible for protecting the interests of minorities in the House. He or she must ensure that the holders of an opinion, however unpopular, are allowed to put across their view without undue obstruction. It is also the Speaker who reprimands, on behalf of the House, an MP brought to the Bar of the House. In the case of disobedience the Speaker can 'name' an MP which results in their suspension from the House for a period. The Speaker must be impartial in all matters. He or she is elected by MPs in the House of Commons but then ceases to be involved in party politics. All sides in the House rely on the Speaker's disinterest. Even after retirement a former Speaker will not take part in political issues. Taking on the office means losing close contact with old colleagues and keeping apart from all groups and interests, even avoiding using the House of Commons dining rooms or bars. The Speaker continues as a Member of Parliament dealing with constituent's letters and problems. By tradition other candidates from the major parties do not contest the Speaker's seat at a General Election. The Speakership dates back to 1377 when Sir Thomas Hungerford was appointed to the role. The title Speaker comes from the fact that the Speaker was the official spokesman of the House of Commons to the Monarch. In the early years of the office, several Speakers suffered violent deaths when they presented unwelcome news to the King. Further information can be obtained from factsheet M2 on the UK Parliament website.
