Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Local Government – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 24 February 1959.
Mr Arthur Champion
, Derbyshire South East
12:00,
24 February 1959
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he is aware that the land at Derby Road, Stanley, in respect of which the Derbyshire County Council refused planning permission for opencast coal working to Messrs. Power (Somercotes) Ltd., is good agricultural land and that the local colliery is threatened with closure; to what extent he took account of these facts in considering the appeal against the council's decision; and why, in view of the high proportion of land in Derbyshire already affected by opencast operations, he allowed the appeal.
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.
