– in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 12 Mawrth 1947.
General Sir George Jeffreys
, Petersfield
12:00,
12 Mawrth 1947
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the position as regards the repatriation of Gibraltarians evacuated during the war period to the United Kingdom; and what is the present housing situation in Gibraltar.
Mr. Creech Jones:
Of the some 12,000 Gibraltarians evacuated to the United Kingdom over 9,000 have been repatriated. The remainder are being repatriated as accommodation is made available for them. A party of 115 is leaving on 15th March. With regard to the second part of the Question, new housing is needed in Gibraltar primarily to provide for the evacuees still in the United Kingdom, of whom there are about 3,000. Since the end of the war 155 temporary houses and 183 converted Nissen huts have been completed, and 45 more Nissen huts are under construction. Twenty-four permanent houses have been completed, and work has begun on a building contract for 472 flats. It is estimated that the completion of this programme will enable all those Gibraltarians who wish to return to do so.
General Sir George Jeffreys
, Petersfield
Can the Colonial Secretary say when it is expected that these people will be able to return? Is it not possible to accelerate the rate of provision of housing accommodation in Gibraltar, bearing in mind the fact that at no time has the accommodation of the inhabitants of Gibraltar been on a very lavish scale?
Mr. Creech Jones:
Building arrangements in Gibraltar are going ahead as fast as possible. We shall, as accommodation becomes available in Gibraltar, transfer some of these people from Northern Ireland.
Mr Ronald Ross
, County Londonderry
Can the Minister say how many of these unfortunate people, after three or four years, are still left in Northern Ireland? Will it soon be possible for them to be removed to Gibraltar?
Mr. Creech Jones:
There are still just over 2,000 in Northern Ireland, and it may be that some of them will not be able to return for about two years.
Sir Patrick Donner
, Basingstoke
Is there any evidence to show that they do not all wish to return to Gibraltar?
Mr. Creech Jones:
I understand that the Majority are anxious to return, and that many are not very happy about the climate in Northern Ireland.
Lieut-Commander Joseph Braithwaite
, Holderness
Can the Minister say whether accommodation in Gibraltar normally occupied by civilians is now being released by the Services?
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.
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.
