Oral Answers to Questions — Fuel and Power – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 27 Tachwedd 1947.
Sir Waldron Smithers
, Orpington
12:00,
27 Tachwedd 1947
asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what is the estimated saving in dollars by the curtailment of the basic ration in the Channel Islands.
Mr Hugh Gaitskell
, Leeds South
Up to the present petrol has been rationed in Guernsey alone. The estimated saving resulting from the abolition of the basic ration is 640 tons a year, the approximate cost of which, at present prices, would be 28,800 U.S. dollars. I understand that rationing will be introduced in Jersey on 1st January, but I have no reliable estimate of the saving which will follow.
Sir Waldron Smithers
, Orpington
Can the Minister justify this insignificant saving? Does it not reduce the whole of his scheme to a farce? Has he realised that the withdrawal of the basic ration in the Channel Islands and elsewhere is a definite stoppage of our ability to recover?
Mr Hugh Gaitskell
, Leeds South
I am not responsible for what the Governments of the Channel Islands do, but I think we should be grateful to them for playing their part, and helping us in 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.
