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
Is the Minister aware that the first part of his Answer indicates a serious diminution of the proportion of national resources devoted to the cure and prevention of illness? Does he not regard this as false economy, and if it continues, will it not prevent him from discharging his responsibilities under the Act?
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.
