Oral Answers to Questions — Food Supplies – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 31 Mawrth 1947.
Mrs Jean Mann
, Coatbridge
12:00,
31 Mawrth 1947
asked the Minister of Food why officers of his Department are calling at houses in Greenend, Coatbridge, asking to see contents of cupboards and weighing jam found therein; and under what authority they are doing this.
Mr Evelyn Strachey
, Dundee
None of my officers are so engaged. I presume my hon. Friend is referring to the National Food Survey investigations carried out on my Department's behalf by the London Press Exchange. These investigators are not authorised to demand information. All the information collected is obtained voluntarily, and larder stocks can only be weighed with the permission of the housewife.
Sir Waldron Smithers
, Orpington
Is this not the thin end of the wedge; and is it not true that the Englishman's home is rapidly becoming no longer his castle?
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.
