Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Pensions and National Insurance – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 26 March 1956.
Mr Victor Collins
, Shoreditch and Finsbury
12:00,
26 March 1956
asked the Minister of Health what, expressed as a percentage of the gross national product, was the cost of the National Health Service in England and Wales in the two financial years 1949–50 and 1954–55, respectively; and what, at constant prices and expressed as a percentage of the 12 months ended 31st March, 1950, was the capital expenditure on hospitals in England and Wales during the year ended on 31st March, 1955.
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.
