§ Q.8. Mr. Ioan L. Evansasked the Prime Minister if he will take steps to bring up to date the titles of Ministers and Ministries.
§ The Prime MinisterIf my hon. Friend has any particular suggestions in mind, I would be glad to consider them.
§ Mr. EvansDoes my right hon. Friend not agree that some of the titles are rather antiquated? For instance, would not the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the President of the Board of Trade and the Postmaster-General be better referred to as "the Minister for Finance", "the Minister for Trade", and "the Minister for Communications"? In view of the fact that he is likely to be in office for many years to come, will he look at this again?
§ The Prime MinisterI must confess that I have a certain sentimental, not to say conservative, approach to this and many other problems. As a former President of the Board of Trade, even if the Board meets so infrequently, I have a feeling that it is the right title to perpetuate. The same is probably true of the other offices. But, of course, this matter can be kept under review over the years.
§ Sir D. RentonCould the right hon. Gentleman find a title to describe the duties which the Paymaster-General fails to perform?
§ The Prime MinisterI have thought a lot about the title "Paymaster-General" and I have studied his duties. I have also studied the record of some of his predecessors, who are still sitting on the opposite benches. The hon. and learned Gentleman will be aware that it is usual to have non-departmental Ministers without specific duties assigned to them and it is not usual to describe in detail all the duties that they perform. I can assure the hon. and learned Gentleman that my right hon. Friend certainly works extremely hard on the duties that he performs extremely successfully, and, unlike his Tory predecessors, as a non-departmental Minister he is not employed at public expense on party duties. [Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. We are getting away from the Question on the Order Paper.