§ 57. Sir D. Rentonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to rationalise the situation whereby responsibility for planning and preparation for wartime emergencies rests upon the Secretary of State for the Home Department, and local authorities for which the Minister of Housing and Local Government is the responsible Minister, and responsibility for peacetime emergencies rests upon the Minister of Housing and Local Government and upon the police forces for whom the Secretary of State for the Home Department has a statutory responsibility.
§ Mr. CallaghanThere is no need to make the proposed changes. Ministers are responsible for the plans and preparations required to deal with commitments for which their Departments would be responsible in any emergency in peace or war; I am responsible for co-ordinating such plans and preparations where this is necessary.