Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 4 Tachwedd 1947.
Mr Douglas Clifton Brown
, Hexham
12:00,
4 Tachwedd 1947
I am afraid that it is quite impossible for me to do anything about it. If during Question Time an hon. Member comes up to the Table and says, "Please postpone my Question"—he cannot telephone the Minister, or do anything of that sort because the time is too late—and if by chance that Question has been answered with another, I think the remedy is in the hon. Member's own hands. Of course, if the Question has not been completely answered, he has the right to put it down again, but if it has been completely answered, then I am afraid I cannot see that there is any very great grievance. It would be most inconvenient for the House if for, say, four Questions referring to the same subject, the Minister got up four times and made the same answer to each. The House world not stand for that for very long. Therefore, I think it is for the convenience of the House that Ministers, when the Questions are similar, should just give one answer which covers all four, all three or all two. I think the real answer to the hon. Member is that if his Question has not been fully answered, he is then entitled to put it down again.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
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.
