Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 26 February 1969.
Mr Walter Loveys
, Chichester
12:00,
26 February 1969
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will issue a revised and clarified claim form for beef cow subsidy.
Mr James Hoy
, Edinburgh Leith
Claim forms for beef cow subsidy incorporating explanatory notes are issued each year in December. If the hon. Member has any suggestions for improving on the form used in December, 1968, my right hon. Friend will be glad to consider them.
Mr Walter Loveys
, Chichester
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply. Is he aware that this form is causing considerable extra work to his divisional offices owing to its ambiguity in relation to the qualifying acreage requirement? Much unnecessary correspondence could be avoided if the forms were clearer on this point.
Mr James Hoy
, Edinburgh Leith
I do not know what ambiguity the hon. Gentleman has in mind, but certainly there is no ambiguity about acreage, which is laid down specifically—one to two-and-a-half acres.
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.
