Oral Answers to Questions — Employment – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 20 October 1949.
Mr Ernest Marples
, Wallasey
12:00,
20 October 1949
asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the shortage of manpower in the mines, he will now approach the Italian Government with a view to recruiting suitable workers from the unemployed in Italy.
Mr George Isaacs
, Southwark North
I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to him on 24th May last.
Mr Ernest Marples
, Wallasey
Will the right hon. Gentleman reconcile the rather negative attitude he is now going to take to get workers with the speech of Mr. Arthur Horner, in which he said that there will be a manpower crisis and that there are not sufficient men in the mines?
Mr George Isaacs
, Southwark North
It is not for me to answer Mr. Arthur Horner's speech. The position is as I stated then. We are still able to recruit foreign workers from other countries coming out of other industries and bring them into coal mines.
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.
