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Department (Correspondence)

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Trade and Commerce – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 8 July 1947.

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Photo of Sir Waldron Smithers Sir Waldron Smithers , Orpington 12:00, 8 July 1947

Cannot the Minister see that it is quite impossible to control the details of everyone's private life and business from Whitehall, and that nationalisation is breaking down, especially in the administration?

Minister

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

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.