Oral Answers to Questions — Economic Affairs – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 26 November 1964.
Mr Geoffrey Lloyd
, Sutton Coldfield
12:00,
26 November 1964
asked the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs whether he has yet met representatives of the motor industry in accordance with the undertaking given by the Chancellor of the exchequer to discuss the effect of the rise in Bank Rate on the ability of the industry to finance stockpiling production during the winter months.
Mr Anthony Crosland
, Grimsby
The meeting of the N.E.D.C. on Wednesday next will provide an opportunity to discuss these and other problems.
Mr Geoffrey Lloyd
, Sutton Coldfield
Will the Minister's right hon. Friend bear in mind that in this industry it is most important to maintain a large volume of production because that is the way to get low marginal costs and to make possible effective entry into the export market?
Mr Anthony Crosland
, Grimsby
Yes, Sir; we are very much aware of that.
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.
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.
