Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Works – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 20 January 1959.
Mr Emrys Hughes
, South Ayrshire
12:00,
20 January 1959
asked the Prime Minister if he will consider asking President Eisenhower for his permission to publish the messages he sent to the British Prime Minister in connection with the Suez campaign.
Mr Harold Macmillan
, Bromley
No, Sir.
Mr Emrys Hughes
, South Ayrshire
May I wish the Prime Minister a happy New Year and speedy permanent retirement before it is over? Is he aware that he will be much helped in his memoirs when he comes to retire if he has the liberty to publish the document from President Eisenhower, which showed that President Eisenhower had the common sense to stop the Suez war?
Mr Harold Macmillan
, Bromley
I am grateful for the kind good wishes of the hon. Member in the first part of his question. I had a very happy Christmas and he seems to have recovered from the New Year. I must say that it has taken him quite a long time to think of this supplementary question.
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.
