Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 26 Hydref 1949.
Mr Tom Driberg
, Maldon
12:00,
26 Hydref 1949
Cardinal Mindszenty's is not a parallel case, because Hungary is one of the three countries covered by peace treaties. There are also precedents, in these Adjournment Debates, for the Minister's getting up at quite an early point in an hon. Member's speech and saying, "I cannot say anything about this in reply. I am not responsible." But my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary is neither irresponsible nor inarticulate, and I am sure that he would have got up before now if he had felt that he could not answer the Debate.
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.
