– in the House of Commons am ar 1 Gorffennaf 1935.
asked the Prime Minister whether he is in a position to say what the salaries of the Cabinet Ministers, known as Ministers without Portfolio, will be; and can he say the length of time he intends to keep on with these extra Cabinet positions?
The salaries of the Ministers without Portfolio will be £3,000. These appointments will continue so long as the work of the Government requires them.
Is the right hon. Gentleman not of opinion that a matter of this kind should have been discussed with the House first of all, because when an under-secretary is appointed to one of the Ministers without Portfolio a Bill has to be introduced, I understand, and surely if that has to be done in the lesser case the bigger appointment ought to be made in the same way?
Is it not the case that an Act of Parliament passed about 1919, or two or three years before, authorised the appointment of three Ministers without Portfolio?
What my hon. Friend has said is right. With regard to the hon. Member for Leigh (Mr. Tinker), what he said in respect of the appointment of under-secretaries is right. The appointment of Ministers without Portfolio requires no Act.
Could not these posts have been filled from the Employment Exchanges?
Does the Prime Minister not think that future appointments of this kind might be considered by the House as a whole before they are made?