Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Aviation – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 3 June 1964.
Mr John Stonehouse
, Wednesbury
12:00,
3 June 1964
Is the Minister aware that the reply which he gave before the Recess was quite inadequate in that all he said was that he was giving consideration to the Question? Is he prepared to deny that the original order which B.O.A.C. made for the VC 10 is being substantially reduced, and that the original order was made as a result of Ministerial direction? Arising out of this, what responsibility does the Minister accept for compensation to be paid to the manufacturers who are losing the order received originally from B.O.A.C.? Will he answer Question No. 8 on liability?
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.
