Oral Answers to Questions — Germany – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 14 July 1947.
Mr Stanley Prescott
, Darwen
12:00,
14 July 1947
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, how many textile firms, spinning, weaving, bleaching, dyeing and finishing, respectively, exist in the British zone of Germany: how many spindles and looms are involved; of such firms how many, in each category, are operating; and how many spindles and looms, respectively, are idle.
Mr Hector McNeill
, Greenock
As the reply can be most clearly given in tabular form, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
Mr Stanley Prescott
, Darwen
Will the Minister give an assurance that all the facts asked for in the Question will be supplied?
Following is the reply:
| Industry. | Firms operating. | Firms idle. | Capacity available. | Capacity operating. | Capacity idle. | ||
| Spinning | … | … | 248 | 14 | 2,504,683 Spindles. | 1,399,813 Spindles. | 1,104,870 Spindles. |
| Weaving | … | … | 887 | 152 | 93,313 Looms. | 28,857 Looms. | 64,465 Looms. |
| Narrow Weaving | … | … | 498 | 51 | 6,424 Looms. | 2,749 Looms. | 3,675 Looms. |
| Yarn Processing | … | … | 210 | 80 | 16,875,000 Kgs. per annum. | 3,600,000 Kgs. per annum. | 13,275,000 Kgs. per annum. |
| Cloth Bleaching | … | … | 95,635,000 sq. m. per annum. | 16,000,000 sq. m. per annum. | 79,625,000 sq. m. per annum | ||
| Cloth Dyeing | … | … | 111,250,000 sq. m. per annum. | 30,000,000 sq. m. per annum. | 80,250,000 sq. m. per annum | ||
| Cloth Printing | … | … | 87,500,000 sq. m. per annum. | 17,000,000 sq. m. per annum. | 70,500,000 sq. m. per annum. | ||
| Cloth Finishing | … | … | 96,000,000 sq. m. per annum. | 15,000,000 sq. m. per annum. | 81,000,000 sq. m. per annum. | ||
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.
