Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Works – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 5 Mai 1947.
Mr William Shepherd
, Bucklow
12:00,
5 Mai 1947
asked the Minister of Works (1) what is his estimate of the percentage of output of building trades operatives as compared with 1938;
(2) the average number of bricks laid at the present time and the average number laid in prewar years.
Mr Charles Key
, Poplar Bow and Bromley
I regret that no reliable figures are available on which a comparison could be made.
Mr William Shepherd
, Bucklow
Surely, the Minister is aware of the prewar formula of one house per person per year. How does that compare with the results so far achieved?
Mr Charles Key
, Poplar Bow and Bromley
The accuracy of the prewar formula is something that has to be decided to start with, as I have no reliable information on what it was based.
Mr Ernest Marples
, Wallasey
How can the Minister reconcile his statement with that made by the men's leaders when the wage increase was granted in January, 1946, pledging themselves to increase output to what it was prewar?
Mr Charles Key
, Poplar Bow and Bromley
That is not the Question I was asked. I was asked to say definitely what has been the percentage of increase. I cannot do that without the necessary information.
Mr Derek Walker-Smith
, Hertford
Will not the Minister agree that, on such figures as there are, the output at present is far lower than it was in 1938; and will he not further agree that this is primarily due to the Government's policy having got the building industry and the building materials industry out of date?
Mr Charles Key
, Poplar Bow and Bromley
I do not accept that. First, there has been a great deal of talk about the decrease in what has been done, bet none of that has been proved. Secondly, conditions are different today from what they were before the war.
Captain Harry Crookshank
, Gainsborough
Will the Minister consult his noble Friend Lord Quibell on this matter?
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.
