Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Supply – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 19 April 1948.
Sir Arthur Harvey
, Macclesfield
12:00,
19 April 1948
asked the Minister of Supply if he will make a statement regarding the prospects of obtaining scrap from Germany in the next few months.
Mr George Strauss
, Lambeth North
The Scrap Investigation Committee, which I appointed at the beginning of March, 1948, have submitted their preliminary report, and in the light of their recommendations measures are being taken to provide additional facilities for obtaining scrap from Germany. I hope that, as a result, we shall get increased tonnages of scrap from this source in 1948.
Sir Arthur Harvey
, Macclesfield
Will the right hon. Gentleman say if he is offering goods to the Germans which will be of use to them and will encourage them to let us have the scrap?
Mr George Strauss
, Lambeth North
What we are doing is to provide greater numbers of tractors and cranes and other equipment which will enable us to bring a greater quantity of scrap to this country.
Mr Cecil Poole
, Lichfield
Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that currency reform is essential before he can expect much scrap from private concerns in Germany.
Mr George Strauss
, Lambeth North
Undoubtedly it would be a most important factor.
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.
