Oral Answers to Questions — Civil Service – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 18 February 1954.
Mr Douglas Houghton
, Sowerby
12:00,
18 February 1954
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer whether he is aware of the delay in adjusting the scale of pay of senior assistant collectors of taxes following recent pay awards; and whether he will expedite matters.
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
A new scale of pay was offered to the Staff Association concerned on 15th February.
Mr Douglas Houghton
, Sowerby
Is the Minister aware that the arbitration awards which govern this decision were made last October and that adjustments, when made, will be retrospective to 1st January, 1953? Has the right hon. Gentleman ever considered the docility of the civil servants and is it not well that these men are represented by the Inland Revenue Staff Federation and not by the E.T.U.?
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
I am sure the docility of the hon. Member is a most admirable feature of him.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
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.
