– in the House of Commons am ar 24 Gorffennaf 1935.
Mr Herbert Williams
, Croydon South
asked the Minister of Health the number of persons in England and Wales on the live register of the Employment Exchanges who are in receipt of public assistance and also the number of persons dependent upon them; and whether the total is increasing or decreasing?
Mr Geoffrey Shakespeare
, Norwich
The number of persons in receipt of out-relief in England and Wales registered at Employment Exchanges is decreasing. The average number in June of this year was 114,274; in May, 121,358; in April, 123,511; and in January, 152,758. The number of dependants was respectively 204,914; 217,673; 222,034; and 301,879.
Mr John Wilmot
, Fulham East
Does not the hon. Gentleman agree that those figures indicate that the rates of benefit have been reduced to a point where many thousands of recipients are still destitute?
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.
