Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Health – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 24 Chwefror 1964.
Mr Kenneth Robinson
, St Pancras North
12:00,
24 Chwefror 1964
asked the Minister of Health whether he has now begun negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry for the renewal of the Voluntary Price Regulation Agreement; and if he will take into account in the course of such negotiations the views of the Public Accounts Committee as expressed in a number of recent reports.
Mr Anthony Barber
, Doncaster
The first formal meeting was held last week. Negotiations will be completed as soon as possible and will most certainly take into account the views of the Public Accounts Committee.
Mr Kenneth Robinson
, St Pancras North
Is the Minister aware that should he reach a conclusion which we on this side of the House considered unsatisfactory it might be necessary, following a change of Government, to renegotiate this agreement? In the circumstances, would not it be best to extend the existing agreement for twelve months from July, when it expires, so that a new long-term agreement could be negotiated by a new Government of whatever complexion?
Mr Anthony Barber
, Doncaster
I think it right, and I am sure that it would be the wish of the House, that we should proceed on the basis that this Government will be returned with a resounding Majority.
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.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
