Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 24 November 1947.
Resolution reported:
That, for the purposes Of any Act of the present Session to amend the law relating to Exchequer grants to local authorities and grants by local authorities to other local authorities or other bodies, and the law relating to rating, valuation for rating and precepts to rating authorities and, among other things, for purposes connected with the matters afore said (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). it is expedient——
(1) To authorise the payment out of moneys provided by Parliament of a grant in any year to the council of any county or county borough in England and Wales or of any county or large burgh in Scotland, being a county, county borough or large burgh the rateable value for which in that year, calculated in accordance with the Act, is less than the standard rateable value for that county, county borough or large burgh for that year, calculated as aforesaid; so, however, that any such grant shall not exceed the relevant fraction of the amount of the difference.
In this paragraph, the expression 'the relevant fraction' means the fraction arrived at by dividing the relevant local expenditure, as defined in the Act, for the year in question by the sum of the following amounts, that is to say, the aforesaid amount of the difference and the product of a rate of one pound in the pound, calculated in accordance with the Act, for the county, county borough or large burgh for that year.
(2) To authorise the payment out of moneys provided by Parliament to the council of any county or county borough in England and Wales or of any county or large burgh in Scotland—
(3) To authorise the payment out of moneys provided by Parliament under Subsection (1) of Section fifty-three of the National Health Service Act, 1946, and under Subsection (1) of Section fifty-three of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act, 1947, to any local health authority of a sum equal to one-half of the expenditure in respect of which grants are payable under those Subsections, respectively, instead of an amount to be determined by regulations made under those Subsections, respectively.
(4) To authorise the payment out of moneys provided by Parliament—
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.