Oral Answers to Questions — British Guiana – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 4 Tachwedd 1965.
Mr Luke Teeling
, Brighton, Pavilion
12:00,
4 Tachwedd 1965
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will ensure that the interests of the Amerindians are considered during the present independence conference on British Guiana; and what recent reports on the subject will be available to the delegates.
Mr Anthony Greenwood
, Rossendale
Certainly Sir. The Minister charged with responsibility for Amerindian affairs, who is himself an Amerindian, is among the conference delegates. A recent report prepared at the request of the British Guiana Government by Mr. Knapp, a Canadian sociologist, will be available to delegates.
Mr Luke Teeling
, Brighton, Pavilion
Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether, when there are eventually debates in this House—as there presumably will be—on the whole subject of British Guiana, it will also be available for us? There are many hon. Members on both sides of the House who are a little worried about the position of the Amerindians.
Mr Anthony Greenwood
, Rossendale
I shall certainly see that a copy is made available in the Library. I will take this opportunity of thanking the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Sir W. Teeling), and his colleagues, who recently paid a visit to the territory, for the work which they did there.
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.
