Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Defence – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 19 Chwefror 1964.
Mr Eustace Willis
, Edinburgh East
12:00,
19 Chwefror 1964
asked the Minister of Defence what effect the recent announcement on the lengthening of the life of the V-bomber force will have upon the Polaris programme.
Dr Dickson Mabon
, Greenock
asked the Minister of Defence if, in view of his decision to extend the life of the V-bomber force, he will bring forward the hunter-killer submarine programme.
Mr Peter Thorneycroft
, Sir Fynwy
The answer to the former is None, Sir, and to the latter is No, Sir.
Mr Eustace Willis
, Edinburgh East
Yes, but if the V-bomber force is to remain a credible deterrent up to and into the 'seventies, does this not give an opportunity to the Government to rephase the Polaris programme in a manner which would avoid some of the problems in connection with skilled manpower and equipment in the Service which at present appear to be likely to arise?
Mr Peter Thorneycroft
, Sir Fynwy
No, Sir.
Dr Dickson Mabon
, Greenock
Does not the right hon. Gentleman realise that if there is a gap such as the Secretary of State for Air has indicated, he might have an opportunity of rephasing the hunter-killer programme, which would remove one of the big obstacles which the Minister mentioned previously to distributing properly and in the national interest orders for submarines throughout the various shipbuilding rivers of the country? Will not the right hon. Gentleman look at this matter more carefully so that we get, not only for defence reasons but for mercantile reasons, the advantage of building atomic-propelled submarines in the rivers of this country?
Mr Peter Thorneycroft
, Sir Fynwy
While I appreciate this support and also the importance which the hon. Gentleman attaches to bringing the V-bomber force up to date, I think our answer must be that we must try to keep all weapons systems as up-to-date and as viable as possible. But this does not justify us in scrapping the Polaris programme.
Mr Eustace Willis
, Edinburgh East
Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that Navy ships have already been laid up through lack of skilled manpower? Will he consult his right hon. Friend the First Lord concerning the position with regard to skilled manpower in the Navy at the present time?
Mr Peter Thorneycroft
, Sir Fynwy
I welcome the hon. Gentleman's reliance on the V-bombers, but the hon. Member should not overstress this point.
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.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
