Part of Oral Answers to Questions — National Finance – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 29 November 1960.
Mr Emrys Hughes
, South Ayrshire
12:00,
29 November 1960
But does not the Minister think that some statement should be made on this question? Is it true that the American Secretary of the Treasury failed to get more money out of the Germans and now he is hoping to get more money out of us? Did the Chancellor tell him that the dollar crisis is due to the big expenditure on armaments and that the best plan for the United States would be to cut that and not try to soak either the Germans or the British taxpayer?
The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
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.
