Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Coal Industry – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 31 July 1947.
Major Roberts:
Will the Minister give an assurance that he will do everything he can to get from America, before next spring, up to 4 million tons of coal at the same price which other European countries are prepared to pay for a similar type of coal?
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.
