Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 9 June 1964.
Mr Michael Maitland Stewart
, Fulham
12:00,
9 June 1964
Does the Prime Minister realise that he has not answered my question at all? The Chancellor of the exchequer said that the Government were inquiring into the possibility of additional sources of revenue for local authorities. What I asked the Prime Minister was what inquiries, in what form, and by whom, the Government were making into this matter?—not the field of the Allen Committee, which is something quite different. Will the right hon. Gentleman also say why, if the Government are now inquiring into this, they did not take the advice of the Opposition about a year ago to do so?
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
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.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
