– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 1 December 1947.
Mr William Warbey
, Luton
12:00,
1 December 1947
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Government still considers that Poland should have the right to extend her territory to the line of the Oder, including the port of Stettin, in accordance with the terms of the letter addressed in November, 1944, to the then Polish Foreign Minister by Sir Alexander Cadogan on the instructions of the then British Prime Minister; and whether it is still proposed to advocate these changes at the peace settlement.
Mr Christopher Mayhew
, Norfolk Southern
As regards the first part of the Question, I would refer to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Swindon (Mr. T. Reid) on 24th November. As regards the second part of the Question I prefer not to prejudge the general examination of the question of Germany's future frontiers, which, I trust, will be carried out as a result of the present session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in London.
Mr William Warbey
, Luton
Can my hon. Friend confirm the version of the letter as published by the Polish Government and, particularly, the statement in that letter that it was sent on the instructions of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Cabinet?
Mr Christopher Mayhew
, Norfolk Southern
In regard to the first part of the question, I have no reason to believe that that version is inaccurate. I should need notice of the second part of the question.
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.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
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