Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Defence – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 June 1964.
Mr Emrys Hughes
, South Ayrshire
12:00,
10 June 1964
Does that mean that we are spending money in such a way that even the Minister does not understand how much is being spent? Can he tell us whether the cost of this miniature Suez is being paid by the taxpayer? Cannot he make arrangements to send the bill to the sheikhs and the oil interests?
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.
