Oral Answers to Questions — British Army – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 25 Chwefror 1947.
Lieut-Colonel Granville Sharp
, Spen Valley
12:00,
25 Chwefror 1947
asked the Secretary of State for War how many troopships are now used to transport soldiers between this country and India and the Far East; to what extent the type of accommodation, meals and amenities have been improved during the last three months; and what further improvements are contemplated.
Mr John Freeman
, Watford
An average of 15 troopships are at present employed to transport Servicemen between this country and India and the Far East. During the past three months, the capacity of troopships in service has been reduced, and the Majority of the sleeping accommodation thus released converted to extra amenity space. In view of the accelerated rate of release in the next three months, this process of improving amenities at the expense of berths will be considerably slowed down. With a few exceptions, which have been corrected during the voyage, there has been no cause of complaint either as to quantity, quality or preparation of meals. These have been in accordance with the scales laid down in regulations.
Lieut-Colonel Granville Sharp
, Spen Valley
asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that H.M.T. "Eastern Prince" is an unsatisfactory troopship; and when it is proposed to improve the ventilating system and the galley facilities and to ensure effective supervision of the catering service.
Mr Frederick Bellenger
, Bassetlaw
I am not aware that the "Eastern Prince" is an unsatisfactory troopship, though her most recent voyage to the Far East did give rise to an unusual number of complaints, which are being investigated. I have so far received no complaints about the homeward bound voyage just completed.
Mr John Hare
, Woodbridge
Will the right hon. Gentleman consult with his right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport who ordered an inquiry into the conditions of the outward voyage; and will he see that the shocking conditions endured by the passengers who had to undergo that voyage are taken into consideration when he is examining it?
Mr Frederick Bellenger
, Bassetlaw
I have already said the complaints are being investigated. I do not agree with the hon. Member that the conditions are shocking. Indeed, there were no complaints on the homeward voyage.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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.
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.
