Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 November 1947.
Major Geoffrey Bing
, Hornchurch
12:00,
10 November 1947
asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware that the Armed Forces occupy about 1,050,000 acres of land in the United Kingdom, and how much of this land was devoted to agriculture in 1938, and how much, though not devoted to agriculture in 1938, is capable of agricultural use.
Mr Thomas Williams
, Don Valley
Yes, Sir. I am aware of the figure quoted. The answer to the second part of the Question is "about 550,000 acres," and the answer to the third part "practically none." I would add that at least 70 per cent. of the total acreage occupied by the Armed Forces continues in agricultural use of some kind.
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.
