– in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 2 Rhagfyr 1947.
Mr Anthony Eden
, Warwick and Leamington
12:00,
2 Rhagfyr 1947
May I ask the Leader of the House if he has any changes to announce in the Business for tomorrow?
Mr Herbert Morrison
, Lewisham East
Yes, Sir. We hope that it will be possible to conclude the Committee stage of the Finance Bill at an early hour tomorrow, Wednesday. Afterwards, we shall ask the House to take the Second Reading of the Ministers of the Crown (Treasury Secretaries) Bill, and, as a matter of urgency, to take the Committee and remaining stages on the same day. The Bill will require a Money Resolution, and, in order that that may be dealt with at the same time, it will be necessary to move a Special Procedure Motion. There are precedents for this. The Government ask the House to treat the Bill as a matter of urgency in order that another Secretary to the Treasury may be appointed to assist my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the exchequer with the economic side of his work. The Bill is being presented today, and copies will be made available in the Vote Office later this afternoon. There are also a number of Electricity and Gas (Special) Orders on the Paper for consideration tomorrow, as well as a Prayer in the name of the right hon. and learned Member for Montgomery (Mr. C. Davies) relating to the Registration for Employment Order.
Mr Anthony Eden
, Warwick and Leamington
With regard to the Bill to which the right hon. Gentleman has just referred, I realise, of course, the conditions in which the Government ask for this exceptional speed, but I should like to have an assurance from the Govern- ment that we are not to regard this as a precedent, because I think the House generally is always most reluctant to pass all stages of a Measure in one day.
Mr Herbert Morrison
, Lewisham East
Certainly. I appreciate the reasonable attitude which the right hon. Gentleman has adopted. This is very exceptional, and certainly I would not argue that this should be a precedent. This procedure is to be engaged in only in special circumstances and in exceptional cases.
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.
The Second Reading is the most important stage for a Bill. It is when the main purpose of a Bill is discussed and voted on. If the Bill passes it moves on to the Committee Stage. Further information can be obtained from factsheet L1 on the UK Parliament website.