– in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 12 Ebrill 1948.
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
12:00,
12 Ebrill 1948
asked the Minister of Transport if he will exercise his powers under Section 4 (1) of the Transport Act, 1946, and issue a general direction to the Transport Commission that representatives of the Press are not to be obstructed in carrying out their duties of photographing and reporting incidents connected with railway accidents.
Mr Alfred Barnes
, East Ham South
No, Sir. This is a matter which should be left to the discretion of the British Transport Commission, who inform me that representatives of the Press covering railway accidents are permitted to enter railway premises on producing evidence of their identity, and are given every assistance possible in the circumstances by responsible railway officers.
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
If I send to the right hon. Gentleman particulars of a case in which that discretion was exercised in precisely the contrary direction to the one of which he has informed the House will he look into it?
Mr Alfred Barnes
, East Ham South
It would be better if the hon. Gentleman sent it direct to the British Transport Commission and so saved time.
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
In that case, will the right hon. Gentleman tell us who is responsible to this House for what they do?
Mr Alfred Barnes
, East Ham South
That has already been fully dealt with, and, in any case, I am informed there has been no complaint from the Press regarding particular matters of this kind.
Captain Harry Crookshank
, Gainsborough
But is not nationalisation so perfect that there are not going to be' any accidents?
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.
