Oral Answers to Questions — Employment – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 7 December 1964.
Mr Christopher Norwood
, Norwich South
12:00,
7 December 1964
asked the Minister of Labour if, in view of the importance of regional planning and the need for full information on which to base it, he will take steps to publish average weekly earnings of male manual workers in the city of Norwich and the county of Norfolk for a suitable date in 1964.
Mr Ernest Thornton
, Farnworth
Reliable figures of average earnings are not available for areas smaller than "regions", and I am afraid, therefore, I cannot publish the information requested by my hon. Friend.
Mr Christopher Norwood
, Norwich South
Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the region to which he refers in our case stretches from Poole to Cromer, a distance of more than 200 miles, that it includes a large proportion of the industrial fringes of London and that all the average figure given is, therefore, totally misleading so far as Norfolk is concerned? Would not the hon. Gentleman agree with me that a more local figure, if not so accurate, is preferable to statistics so general as to be virtually useless?
Mr Ernest Thornton
, Farnworth
I quite appreciate that the eastern and southern region covers a very large area indeed. We shall certainly bear this in mind in any review that is undertaken, but I would remind the hon. Gentleman that these statistics are based on samples and on voluntary information given on a confidential basis. They must not be given for so small an area that an individual firm can be identified.
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.
