Oral Answers to Questions — Wireless and Television – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 10 Tachwedd 1964.
Mr Simon Digby
, West Dorset
12:00,
10 Tachwedd 1964
asked the Prime Minister what changes he has authorised in the relationship between the Secretary of State for Defence and the Ministers of Defence for Army, Navy and Air, respectively; and what other changes are being made in the organisation of the Ministry of Defence.
Mr Harold Wilson
, Huyton
No changes have been made in the relationships between the Secretary of State and the three Ministers of Defence. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence for the army also acts as Deputy to the Secretary of State, with a particular responsibility in the field of defence questions affecting the alliance as a whole.
Mr Simon Digby
, West Dorset
Is the Prime Minister aware that this matter was exhaustively discussed in the closing stages of the last Parliament, when the idea of a deputy was not advanced from either party? Where does the new idea come from?
Mr Harold Wilson
, Huyton
If this Parliament is to be bound by everything which was done and discussed in the last Parliament, we shall not make very much progress.
Mr Emanuel Shinwell
, Easington
Is my right hon. Friend aware that in the closing stages of the discussion on the Bill creating the present integrated Ministry of Defence it was agreed that all the Ministers concerned should cover functionally any section of the Department of the Ministry of Defence?
Mr Harold Wilson
, Huyton
Yes, Sir, and this is very much our idea. Already, in addition to their special responsibilities for the Services to which they have been allocated, each of the three Ministers is taking on more and more responsibility of a functional character affecting the Defence Service as a whole.
Sir Beresford Craddock
, Spelthorne
May I ask a question with regard to the position of the Chief Scientific Officer to the Secretary of State for Defence? I understand that he is now the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister. Is he to do the two jobs now, or only one?
Mr Harold Wilson
, Huyton
The answer to the question is, "Yes, he will still advise my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence", though I am not quite sure whether this arises out of the Question on the Order Paper.
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.
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.
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Written questions tabled to ministers by MPs on the previous day are listed at the back of the order paper.
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