Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Health – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 12 December 1960.
Mr Laurie Pavitt
, Willesden West
12:00,
12 December 1960
asked the Minister of Health if he will consider extending the development unit to include a section to advise family doctors on design and building costs of surgeries and on organisation and methods in general practice.
Mr Enoch Powell
, Wolverhampton South West
I have had no request on these lines from the profession, but my Department's help and advice is available. The Group Practice Loans Fund Committee advise on the design of group practice premises.
Mr Laurie Pavitt
, Willesden West
Cannot the Minister take the initiative in this matter without waiting for the profession to make a request? Is he aware that if he could increase the amount of service given by family doctors it would save a considerable amount of expenditure caused by unnecessary hospitalisation, and that it would be possible to do just that along the lines suggested in the Question?
Mr Enoch Powell
, Wolverhampton South West
The profession is not unaware of the problem, but I would rather that the initiative in this matter came from it.
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.
