Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 18 February 1954.
Mr. Watkins:
asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the Welsh Sub-Commission has yet been asked to in vestigate the types of fanning calculated to make the most efficient use of the resources of the Welsh rural areas, as stated in Command Paper No. 9014, paragraph 59 (3); and whether he will state the exact terms of reference.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
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.
