Oral Answers to Questions — Ex-Service Men. – in the House of Commons am ar 4 Awst 1922.
Sir Edward Manville
, Coventry
asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether he can give any reason for the undue delay in connection with the confirmation of the Scarborough Electricity (Amendment) Special Order, 1922, the Order having been forwarded to the Electricity Commissioners in an agreed form on 30th May last?
Mr Arthur Neal
, Sheffield, Hillsborough
I cannot agree that there has been any delay in confirming the Special Order referred to. The Order was received from the Electricity Commissioners for confirmation on Saturday, 8th July, and the statutory notice of intention to confirm the Order was sent to the promoters' solicitor on Tuesday, 11th July, for publication in the local newspaper and "London Gazette." This notice appeared in the issues of the "Scarborough Mercury" and the "London Gazette" of 14th July. The period required by statute for lodging objections is not less than 21 days. The latest date fixed by the Minister for posting objections in the present case is Saturday, 5th August.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
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.
