Oral Answers to Questions — Pensions and National Insurance – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 26 March 1956.
Dr. Johnson:
asked the Minister of Health what steps he takes to make members of hospital management committees known to members of the general public.
Mr Robin Turton
, Thirsk and Malton
None, Sir.
Dr. Johnson:
Is my right hon. Friend aware that in some parts of the country there is a tendency towards secretiveness about the names of members of hospital management committees? Will he do what he can to discourage this? Will he consider some method of making the names of members generally available to the public, for instance, by display in post offices?
Mr Robin Turton
, Thirsk and Malton
This must be left to the discretion of hospital authorities. I agree that it is desirable, where possible, for these names to be made public, in local handbooks or in annual reports, but it must be left to the regional hospital boards and hospital management committees, for whose appointment the boards are responsible.
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.
