– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 6 December 1973.
Mr Jo Grimond
, Orkney and Shetland
12:00,
6 December 1973
asked the Prime Minister if recording machines are used to record any of his or other Ministers' meetings or conversations ; and on what conditions.
Mr Anthony Barber
, Altrincham and Sale
I have been asked to reply.
As is generally known, important international telephone conversations by the Prime Minister have been, and continue to be, recorded so as to minimise the risk of mishearing or misunderstanding. Recording machines are openly used to record some conferences, meetings or interviews which would otherwise be recorded by verbatim writers. Neither I nor other Ministers use recording machines to record meetings or interviews without the knowledge of those present.
Mr Jo Grimond
, Orkney and Shetland
Will the acting Prime Minister consider letting the House know the rules and conditions under which these machines are used and what is done with the recordings? Obviously, this is a matter which can be most dangerous. On the other hand, posterity may well wish to hear what the Chancellor of the exchequer sounded like in his heyday.
Mr Russell Kerr
, Feltham
They will not believe their ears.
Mr Jo Grimond
, Orkney and Shetland
If we had recordings of Pitt, Gladstone and Disraeli, and of Cabinet proceedings, they might be extremely interesting. I appreciate the possible dangers, but will the right hon. Gentleman consider laying before this House the conditions under which recordings are made and how they are kept?
Mr Anthony Barber
, Altrincham and Sale
I think that I answered that question when I said in my main answer that neither I nor other Ministers used recording machines to record meetings or interviews without the knowledge of those present.
Mr Jock Bruce-Gardyne
, South Angus
Nevertheless, will my right hon. Friend consider making available to the Shadow Cabinet machines of the type referred to in the original Question? Surely it is unsatisfactory that some Opposition Members should apparently be unable to recognise accounts of meetings, at which they have been present, given to the Press by the office of the Leader of the Opposition?
Mr Anthony Barber
, Altrincham and Sale
That is a very good point.
Mr John Stonehouse
, Wednesbury
I should like to ask the Chancellor two questions. First, are telephone callers to Ministers warned in advance that their conversations are due to be recorded? Secondly, is a Post Office licence applied for for this recording?
Mr Anthony Barber
, Altrincham and Sale
On the first point, I should think not, and, on the second, I do not know.
Sir Ronald Bell
, Buckinghamshire South
Will my right hon. Friend arrange for the record of the Prime Minister's telephone call to Tokyo to be placed in the library?
Mr Tony Benn
, Bristol South East
Will the Chancellor tell the House whether he and other Ministers have listened to recordings of what they said to the electorate in 1970? If not, why not?
Mr Anthony Barber
, Altrincham and Sale
One advantage of the way that we proceed in this House is that we can rely on the right hon. and hon. Gentlemen opposite to remind the country of what we said and we can remind the country of some of the things that they said—and are still saying.
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.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
The "Leader of the Opposition" is head of "Her Majesty's Official Opposition". This position is taken by the Leader of the party with the 2nd largest number of MPs in the Commons.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
The shadow cabinet is the name given to the group of senior members from the chief opposition party who would form the cabinet if they were to come to power after a General Election. Each member of the shadow cabinet is allocated responsibility for `shadowing' the work of one of the members of the real cabinet.
The Party Leader assigns specific portfolios according to the ability, seniority and popularity of the shadow cabinet's members.
The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
This phrase is often used in written answers to indicate that a minister has deposited some relevant information in the House of Commons Library. Typical content includes research reports, letters, and tables of data not published elsewhere.
A list of such depositions can be found at http://deposits.parliament.uk/ along with some of the documents. The Library is not open to the public, but copies of documents can be requested if they are not on that website. For more information, see the House of Commons factsheet: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/P15.pdf
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.
