Oral Answers to Questions — Fuel and Power – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 27 November 1947.
Colonel Leonard Ropner
, Barkston Ash
12:00,
27 November 1947
asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is aware that the Hemsworth and United Kingdom Coke Oven Company at Pontefract is faced with a complete breakdown in their gas supplies as a result of the recent cut in their weekly allocation of coal, and whether, in view of the necessity to maintain supplies of gas to the 3,000 industrial and commercial consumers and 100,000 domestic consumers which the company supplies, he will take immediate steps to restore the company's coal supplies to the previous figure of 4,000 tons a week.
Mr Hugh Gaitskell
, Leeds South
Owing to the high level of output, recent coal deliveries to this plant have in fact exceeded 4,000 tons per week. I am looking into the question of future supplies for the plant.
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.
