Oral Answers to Questions — Food Supplies – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 26 November 1947.
Sir Waldron Smithers
, Orpington
12:00,
26 November 1947
asked the Minister of Food if he will state in convenient categories of food the profit and loss account of all his dealings in food including overhead costs since July, 1945.
Mr Evelyn Strachey
, Dundee
The Trading Accounts of my Ministry for the year to 31st March, 1947, will be published shortly. They will include comparative figures for the year to 31st March, 1946, and should provide the hon. Member with the information he wants in very considerable detail.
Sir Waldron Smithers
, Orpington
Will the figures show that the Minister's Department works at a profit or a loss?
Mr Evelyn Strachey
, Dundee
Of course, the figures will show, as I explained in the statement on my Estimates, that it works at a loss, roughly by the amount of the food subsidies.
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.
