Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Pensions and National Insurance – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 26 March 1956.
Mr Patrick Bartley
, Chester-le-Street
12:00,
26 March 1956
asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the average retail price of domestic coal per ton, showing such items as pit-head price, the cost of transport, the cost of delivery and the distributor's profit margin.
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.
