Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 December 1957.
Mr Willie Hamilton
, Fife West
12:00,
10 December 1957
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the continued and growing dissatisfaction in Fife concerning the provision of hospital beds of all kinds; and if he will take immediate steps to ensure that this county is treated on the same basis as all others in this matter.
Hon. John Maclay
, Renfrewshire West
The hon. Gentleman will realise, that in the past Fife relied mainly for its general hospital beds on Edinburgh and Dundee. But capital expenditure on hospitals in Fife itself is now well above the average level for Scotland as a whole.
Mr Willie Hamilton
, Fife West
Is the Minister aware that Fife is by no means satisfied with the answer that is continually given that it must depend on Dundee and Edinburgh for its hospital facilities? Is the Secretary of State not shaken out of his complacency by the figures which he himself supplied to every Member of Parliament representing Fife constituencies? People are getting more and more alarmed about the position.
Hon. John Maclay
, Renfrewshire West
The hon. Member will realise from my original reply that I am not suggesting that Fife should be dependent on Edinburgh and Dundee, because a big share of capital investment is now going into Fife. Fife is getting £691 per thousand of the population as against £486 per thousand of the population in Scotland as a whole. This represents a very fair share.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
A Member of Parliament (MP) is elected by a particular area or constituency in Britain to represent them in the House of Commons. MPs divide their time between their constituency and the Houses of Parliament in London. Once elected it is an MP's job to represent all the people in his or her constituency. An MP can ask Government Ministers questions, speak about issues in the House of Commons and consider and propose new laws.
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.
