– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 7 November 1949.
Mr Ernest Marples
, Wallasey
12:00,
7 November 1949
asked the Minister of Food what is the total quantity of rum stored by his Department in Nottingham; how long it has been stored there; what he proposes to do with it; and when he expects to remove it.
Mr Evelyn Strachey
, Dundee
About 13,000 gallons of rum which we took over from the Services has been stored in Nottingham since March, 1946. It is being steadily cleared, and we hope to dispose of it all within the next six months.
Mr Ernest Marples
, Wallasey
Does not the right hon. Gentleman think he could accelerate the clearance of this rum?
Mr Evelyn Strachey
, Dundee
No, Sir. There is a good deal of other rum being imported from Jamaica and it would be unfair to throw this all on the market now. This is old war stock.
Sir Godfrey Nicholson
, Farnham
Is this Jamaica or Demerara?
Mr Evelyn Strachey
, Dundee
It is naval stock of various kinds.
Mr James Harrison
, Nottingham East
Is my right hon. Friend aware that the storage of this huge quantity of rum in the City of Nottingham is no detriment to the City of Nottingham and that the source of the complaint is one of the sloppiest in the City?
Mr Ernest Marples
, Wallasey
asked the Minister of Food what is the area of the bonded warehouse accommodation in Nottingham occupied by his Department; what percentage is this of the total bonded warehouse accommodation available; and when he expects to derequisition the accommodation now used in storing rum.
Mr Evelyn Strachey
, Dundee
My Department is using some 3,700 square feet of bonded accommodation in Nottingham representing about 17 per cent. of the space available. None of it is requisitioned.
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.
