Oral Answers to Questions — Employment – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 20 October 1949.
Mr Peter Freeman
, Newport (Monmouthshire/Gwent)
12:00,
20 October 1949
asked the Minister of Labour how many building workers were registered as employed in the building trade in England and Wales separately on 1st January in each of the years from 1932–39 and from 1946–49, and the latest available figures; and how many were registered as unemployed on the same dates.
Mr George Isaacs
, Southwark North
I am having the available information extracted and will send it to my hon. Friend.
Mr Peter Freeman
, Newport (Monmouthshire/Gwent)
Does not this information indicate that there were far more unemployed in the building trade before the war and far more employed since the war, and that if this maximum force of building workers had been employed before the war we should not be in the plight for houses in which we find ourselves today?
Mr George Isaacs
, Southwark North
I cannot express an opinion on the facts until I have had the information extracted.
Mr Percy Shurmer
, Birmingham Sparkbrook
Does he think there ought to be any unemployed building workers in view of the Minister's policy?
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.
