Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Supply – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 24 November 1947.
Sir Allan Noble
, Chelsea
12:00,
24 November 1947
asked the Minister of Supply whether the lower-power atomic pile at Harwell is now in operation.
Mr George Strauss
, Lambeth North
Yes, Sir. This pile came into operation in August last.
Sir Allan Noble
, Chelsea
Can the Minister say when the high-power one is expected?
Mr George Strauss
, Lambeth North
We hope about the middle of next year.
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.
