Oral Answers to Questions — National Finance – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 11 Tachwedd 1947.
Mr Cyril Osborne
, Louth Borough
12:00,
11 Tachwedd 1947
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer if he has considered the advisability of including tobacco among the expenditure items in the Marshall Plan; and will he make a statement on its comparative importance with cooking fats, feedingstuffs, and wheat.
Mr Hugh Dalton
, Bishop Auckland
Tobacco was included in the Paris report. The answer to the second part of the question is, "No, Sir."
Mr Cyril Osborne
, Louth Borough
Has the right hon. Gentleman any discretion; and when the Marshall Plan is brought into being, will he remember that cooking fats are more important for the housewife than tobacco?
Mr Hugh Dalton
, Bishop Auckland
I think that is a very hypothetical question.
Mr Cyril Osborne
, Louth Borough
It is not.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
