Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Trade and Commerce – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 July 1947.
Sir Stafford Cripps
, Bristol East
12:00,
10 July 1947
The lord mayors, mayors, and chairmen of Urban District Councils in the more populous areas in England and Wales have been asked in a personal letter from the Lord President of the Council, the Minister of Healthy the Secretary of State for Scotland and myself, to influence their local authorities in the direction of providing adequate salvage collection machinery. A similar appeal has also been sent to Convenors of County Councils, Lord Provosts and Provosts in Scotland. I cannot too strongly emphasise the necessity for salvage to be kept separate from ordinary refuse.
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.
