Oral Answers to Questions — Coal Industry – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 23 Ionawr 1947.
Sir Waldron Smithers
, Orpington
12:00,
23 Ionawr 1947
asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the wages cost, as a percentage of the total cost of production in the British coal industry, for each of the years from 1943 to the latest available date.
Mr Emanuel Shinwell
, Seaham
The figures are:
| Per cent. | |||||
| 1943 | … | … | … | … | 72 |
| 1944 | … | … | … | … | 71 |
| 1945 | … | … | … | … | 71 |
| 1946 | … | … | … | … | 71 |
| (January-September only) | |||||
Sir Waldron Smithers
, Orpington
Would the right hon. Gentleman send a copy of the white paper on economic affairs which was issued on Monday to every miner in the country?
Mr Emanuel Shinwell
, Seaham
I gather that the miners of the country are more familiar with all these economic aspects than the hon. Member.
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.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
