Oral Answers to Questions — Royal Air Force – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 December 1947.
Brigadier Ralph Rayner
, Totnes
12:00,
10 December 1947
asked the Secretary of State for Air when the airfield at Bolt Head, South Devon, will he made available for agricultural use.
Mr Arthur Henderson
, Kingswinford
This airfield was derequisitioned 18 months ago, since when the County Agricultural Executive Committee have been restoring the land for farming. Complete restoration is, however, proving more difficult than was expected, and I am therefore, consulting my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture on what further work should be put in hand.
Brigadier Ralph Rayner
, Totnes
Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that the case of this rich agricultural land, 300 acres in extent, has been like a shuttlecock flying between his Ministry, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Agriculture for the last 18 months; that buildings are still on the aerodrome; that the ditches are still open; and, particularly, that some wire mesh tracking, which was premised to local owner-occupiers to replace their fences, has been disposed of elsewhere; and does he realise that if this sort of thing goes on everywhere the country will starve?
Mr Arthur Henderson
, Kingswinford
I am not aware that it is going on everywhere. As regards this particular area being a shuttlecock between various Departments, I hope that as a result of my consultations that situation will end.
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.
