Oral Answers to Questions — Land and Natural Resources – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 21 December 1964.
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
12:00,
21 December 1964
asked the Minister of Land and Natural Resources what steps he is taking to secure the availability of coal, iron ore, sand and gravel, and oil for the needs of the community.
Mr Frederick Willey
, Sunderland North
I am considering how information about the location and accessibility of minerals should be collated and supplemented so that we may have a comprehensive picture of these resources.
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
Since the right hon. Gentleman refers to information, how does he square that view of his responsibilities with the view given by the Prime Minister on 26th November, when he stated that the right hon. Gentleman was responsible for the availability of natural resources for the use of the community?
Mr Frederick Willey
, Sunderland North
Information is necessary before one can determine availability.
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
Is the right hon. Gentleman in a position to say, as asked in the Question, what steps he is taking, having got the information, to secure availability?
Mr Frederick Willey
, Sunderland North
Certainly. What has surprised me—and I am surprised that it has not surprised the right hon. Gentleman—is how few steps have been taken in the past to provide information about the accessibility of the mineral resources of this country. This is what I intend to remedy.
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.
