– in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 13 Awst 1947.
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
12:00,
13 Awst 1947
asked the Minister of Works for what purpose he proposes to use the buildings in Richmond Park, shortly to be vacated by 102 Convalescent Depot.
Mr Evan Durbin
, Edmonton
When the convalescent depot is vacated, which will probably be about the end of the year, it is proposed to use the buildings to house competitors in the 1948 Olympic Games.
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware of the fact that the Kingston Council applied to his Department for the use of these premises for housing the homeless, and is it really the decision of his Department that it is better to use this accommodation for the housing of international athletes, than for the housing of thousands of homeless people?
Mr Evan Durbin
, Edmonton
It would not be possible, as the Amendment to the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act, 1945, was withdrawn, to use these buildings in a Royal Park for housing purposes?
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the fact that with the permission of his Department that would be possible?
Mr Evan Durbin
, Edmonton
Since the decision was taken that the Olympic Games should be held in this country we are under the necessity of finding appropriate accommodation for the visiting athletes, such accommodation must be reasonably near to the scene of the meeting, and these are unquestionably the most logical premises to use for the purpose.
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.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
