Oral Answers to Questions — Local Government – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 27 November 1956.
Mr James Callaghan
, Cardiff South East
12:00,
27 November 1956
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware that the council house tenants of Penarth, Glamorgan, have voted against a differential rents scheme on a poll con ducted by the council by a Majority of seven to one; and what policy is recommended in his circulars in such circum stances where the tenants express their preference for an alternative scheme.
Mr Enoch Powell
, Wolverhampton South West
My right hon. Friend is aware of the inquiry made by the council. It is for the local authority in each case to decide whether to introduce a differential rents scheme.
Mr James Callaghan
, Cardiff South East
As this local authority has decided to ignore the result of its own poll, despite the overwhelming vote, is any remedy open to the tenants, except to turn out the council?
Mr Enoch Powell
, Wolverhampton South West
This is a matter rightly and entirely within the discretion of the local authority as a representative body.
Mr John McKay
, Wallsend
Can the Parliamentary Secretary say whether a local authority has power to withdraw all subsidies from council houses and refuse rebates of rent on any houses, or give very small rebates to a minority, while using the balance for the reduction of rates?
Mr Enoch Powell
, Wolverhampton South West
Local housing authorities have power by law to make such reasonable charges for the tenancy or occupation of their houses as they may determine.
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.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
