– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 18 December 1973.
Mr William Molloy
, Ealing North
12:00,
18 December 1973
asked the Prime Minister what further ministerial changes he is considering.
Mr Edward Heath
, Bexley
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply which I gave to the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Grimond) on 13th December.—[Vol. 866, c. 180.]
Mr William Molloy
, Ealing North
Is the Prime Minister aware that the present crisis has underlined the need for the establishment of a national energy co-ordinating department with a Cabinet supremo at its head responsible to this House of Commons in order to ensure that our country exploits to the full our indigenous resources? Will the right hon. Gentleman consider this as a proposition which should be implemented almost immediately?
Mr Edward Heath
, Bexley
The whole purpose of this Government since coming to power has been to exploit the country's indigenous resources to the utmost degree, and we shall go on doing that.
Mr Laurance Reed
, Bolton East
Is my right hon. Friend aware that there are many of his own supporters who share the conviction of the hon. Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Molloy)? My right hon. Friend has said that the North Sea operation should be conducted as though we were in wartime conditions, so let us have war-time conditions.
Mr Edward Heath
, Bexley
It was in a colloquial sense that I said it should be regarded as a war-time operation. I do not think that this House wants war-time conditions on the East Coast of Scotland. In fact, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my noble Friend the Minister of State have been treating this matter with the utmost urgency.
Mr Jo Grimond
, Orkney and Shetland
Although I was grateful for the Prime Minister's non-answer to my Question on a previous occasion, may I ask whether he is aware that it is necessary that we should know who is the strategic authority on energy planning and that he should be a member of the Cabinet?
Mr Edward Heath
, Bexley
It is my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, who is a member of the Cabinet.
Mr Willie Hamilton
, Fife West
And what a mess he is.
Rear-Admiral Morgan Morgan-Giles
, Winchester
Will my right hon. Friend accept the congratulations of his supporters that his crew has managed within the past 24 hours to take in a reef in the middle of a full gale, which is a very difficult job, and therefore it is hoped that he will not change any of its members?
Mr Edward Heath
, Bexley
I am grateful for my hon. and gallant Friend's nautical compliment.
The House of Commons is one of the houses of parliament. Here, elected MPs (elected by the "commons", i.e. the people) debate. In modern times, nearly all power resides in this house. In the commons are 650 MPs, as well as a speaker and three deputy speakers.
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.
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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.
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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.
