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Building Supervisors

Oral Answers to Questions — Hospitals – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 24 Chwefror 1964.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Mr James Boyden Mr James Boyden , Bishop Auckland 12:00, 24 Chwefror 1964

asked the Minister of Health in how many hospital groups where 70 per cent. or more of the maintenance budget is concerned with building work there is no building supervisor, qualified in building, in charge.

Photo of Bernard Braine Bernard Braine , Essex South East

I regret that this information is not available.

Photo of Mr James Boyden Mr James Boyden , Bishop Auckland

Should not the information be available? Is it not the situation that there are far too few qualified building supervisors in the hospital ser- vice for them to be able to deal with all the major and minor work which goes on? Will the hon. Gentleman give careful consideration to the pay and promotion prospects of employees of this type to see what he can do to recruit more people?

Photo of Bernard Braine Bernard Braine , Essex South East

It is impossible to identify the hospital groups which spend 70 per cent. or more of their maintenance budgets on building work. The number of building supervisors, in whole-time equivalents, was 218 on 30th September, 1962, and the corresponding figure in 1958 was 177. We do not know of any general recruitment difficulties. The question of salaries is, of course, another matter.

Minister

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.