Oral Answers to Questions — Fuel and Power – in the House of Commons am ar 2 Chwefror 1943.
Mr Cecil Wilson
, Sheffield, Attercliffe
asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the output per manshift and the average age of the miners employed in the Nunnery, Orgreave, Treeton, Kilnhurst, Grange, Holbrook and Norwood collieries to which men from Tinsley Park are being transferred?
Mr Gwilym Lloyd George
, Pembrokeshire
It would not be in the public interest to publish figures relating to individual collieries, and information concerning the average age of the miners employed at the collieries concerned is not readily available.
Mr Cecil Wilson
, Sheffield, Attercliffe
Is it not obtainable?
Mr Gwilym Lloyd George
, Pembrokeshire
I will communicate with my hon. Friend in regard to the first part, but the second part, he will appreciate, would involve considerable labour.
Mr Cecil Wilson
, Sheffield, Attercliffe
asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the distance from Tinsley Park to each of the other collieries to which men are being transferred; the means of trans-port to each colliery available for each of the three shifts and as none of the collieries have housing accommodation for the transferred men, the additional length of time which the men will be away from home daily; and the additional expense per week to which they will be put if the collieries are working full time?
Mr Gwilym Lloyd George
, Pembrokeshire
The men affected by the closing of Tinsley Park Colliery will be transferred to Nunnery, Orgreave, Treton, Westhorpe and Kilnhurst Collieries, which are distant from Tinsley Park 1½, 2, 5, 10 and 10 miles respectively. The Majority of the men are going to the first three, for which adequate transport services already exist. A service to the fourth was started on 1st February. No men are at present being moved to the fifth colliery. As far as possible men are being transferred to the pit of their choice, which in some cases is nearer than Tinsley Park to their homes. While, therefore, the time during which some men will be away from home will be increased, for others it will be reduced. For very few men will travelling time be lengthened by more than 20 minutes. To avoid hardship, the Regional Controller will examine cases in which travelling expenses are increased or are a new charge on the workman.
Mr Cecil Wilson
, Sheffield, Attercliffe
Has there been a conference with the workmen on this question?
Mr Gwilym Lloyd George
, Pembrokeshire
I believe that on this question there has been very close consultation throughout, and also with the Regional Board.
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.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
