– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 24 November 1947.
Sir Douglas Dodds-Parker
, Banbury
12:00,
24 November 1947
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the Government's present policy towards German prisoners of war who volunteer to remain in this country beyond their repatriation date and undertake essential employment, and who wish to bring their wives and children to this country to join them.
Mr Christopher Mayhew
, Norfolk Southern
I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Mr. Turton) by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries on 27th October, and to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Mr. Skeffington-Lodge) by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour on 30th October. It has, unfortunately, not been found possible to bring the families of these men to this country since accommodation is very short and priority must be given to the families of European voluntary workers.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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.