Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 5 Rhagfyr 1973.
Mr Hugh Fraser
, Stafford and Stone
12:00,
5 Rhagfyr 1973
Will my right hon. Friend and the Government as a whole get down to the root of this question, which is the Arab denial of supplies to the West? I am sure that this is the problem that we must face. Surely my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister will agree that our main interest is to remain close to the Americans and Europe on this subject. Will my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister seriously consider in this situation, which is almost certain to deteriorate, the elision from the Department of Trade and Industry of the old Ministry of Fuel and Power which was eaten up in 1969 by the right hon. Member for Bristol, South-East (Mr. Benn)? There seems to be a clear case for the establishment of a separate Ministry dealing with fuel, power and energy independent of the DTI.
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.
