Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 November 1947.
Mr Thomas Skeffington-Lodge
, Bedford
12:00,
10 November 1947
asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is yet in a position to announce details of a scheme whereby repatriated prisoners-of-war may be allowed to return to this country as civilian workers in agriculture.
Mr Thomas Williams
, Don Valley
No, Sir; it is not proposed to arrange for former prisoners, already repatriated, to return to this country as civilian workers, but only for some of the prisoners already here to remain on a voluntary and civilian basis. The details are now being worked out. The needs for still more foreign labour are being met in other ways.
Lieut-Commander Joseph Braithwaite
, Holderness
Meantime, while the scheme is under consideration, are prisoners of war who volunteer to remain here being allowed to stay in the country?
Mr Thomas Williams
, Don Valley
Yes, Sir. Any prisoner of war whose date of repatriation arrives can opt to stay for a further six months.
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.
