Oral Answers to Questions — British Army – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 June 1964.
Mr Stephen Swingler
, Newcastle-under-Lyme
12:00,
10 June 1964
asked the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made in the consultations between his Department and the local planning authority about the future of the site at Swynnerton.
Sir Peter Kirk
, Gravesend
I understand that the Staffordshire County Council is considering a proposal to send a delegation to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government to discuss the future of the site at Swynnerton.
Mr Stephen Swingler
, Newcastle-under-Lyme
Is the hon. Gentleman aware that we are now approaching the seventh anniversary of the Government's announcement of the closure of the factory at Swynnerton, when the dialogue about these 700 acres began? Is it the case that we are now to go round and round the circus again, from Department to Department? Would it not be quicker to set up a Royal Commission?
Sir Peter Kirk
, Gravesend
I am as disappointed as the hon. Gentleman, but the latest delay is caused by the county council and it does not tie in with the assurance by the county council which the hon. Gentleman gave me the last time he questioned me on this matter.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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.
