Oral Answers to Questions — Coal Industry – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 31 October 1949.
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
12:00,
31 October 1949
asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what percentage the output of saleable deep-mined coal in the United Kingdom in 1948 was of that in 1938.
Mr Hugh Gaitskell
, Leeds South
Eighty-seven per cent.
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
Can the right hon. Gentleman say how those figures compare with the comparable figures for France and Czechoslovakia?
Mr Hugh Gaitskell
, Leeds South
The French output in relation to pre-war is certainly higher than our own, but their labour force is some 20 per cent. above pre-war whereas ours is about 10 per cent. below.
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
Can the right hon. Gentleman say, then, whether he accepts the attitude of the Minister of Labour last week, that there was no need to increase the labour force in the mines?
Mr Hugh Gaitskell
, Leeds South
I certainly would not agree that that correctly reflects my right hon. Friend's view in the matter. He pointed out that the Ministry of Labour were doing everything they could to increase the manpower in the pits.
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.
