Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 24 June 1964.
Mr Thomas Steele
, Dunbartonshire West
12:00,
24 June 1964
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will set up a committee to examine and report on the provisions made for road safety in Scotland.
Mr. Campbell:
My right hon. Friend is considering with the Minister of Transport how best to give a new impetus to road safety activities, and he will bear the hon. Member's suggestion in mind.
Mr Thomas Steele
, Dunbartonshire West
In view of the fact that Scotland has some responsibility in this matter, that road accidents are increasing, and that the reports from the various authorities in Scotland show varying success records and that efforts differ very widely on how to tackle this problem, would it not be worth while, in Scotland, to have a committee to examine this problem so that it could give guidance to local authorities and others as to the best methods and organisations to deal with it?
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.
