Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Trade and Commerce – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 July 1947.
Professor William Gruffydd
, University of Wales
12:00,
10 July 1947
asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has now completed his discussions with the Minister of Education; and if, in view of the disastrous lack of books in schools and colleges of all grades and of the need to make full use of the additional year due to the raised school-leaving age, he is now prepared, in allocating paper, to give a definite priority to books for schools and colleges.
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.
