Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 November 1947.
Mr James Reid
, Glasgow Hillhead
12:00,
10 November 1947
The first remark which I should like to make about the Minister's conduct in this matter concerns his notable failure to give adequate information to the country. He has told us tonight that there has been no undue drain upon the eight million tons of potatoes which we have grown this year, according to the estimate—and he has not quarrelled with that estimate. How does he propose to dispose of that eight million tons? If I am not wrong, this rationing scheme will not take up anything like one half of that—
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.
