Britain: An official handbook > 1977

GOVERNMENT
Her Majesty’s
Stationery Office
The Department
of Trade
The Department
of Transport
The Welsh
Office
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Some government departments are wholly dependent on the Treasury
Solicitor for their legal work; some have their own legal staffs for a proportion
of the work and draw on the Treasury Solicitor for special advice and, often,
for litigation and conveyancing; others, whose administrative work is based
on or deals with a code of specialised law or involves a great deal of legal work,
have their own independent legal sections.
The Treasury Solicitor is also the Queen’s Proctor (an officer who has
certain duties in connection with the divorce laws).
Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO) is the central purchasing organisa¬
tion responsible for supplying the home and overseas public service with paper,
printing, binding, books, periodicals, office supplies, and office machinery.
The department also provides services such as duplicating, addressing, photo¬
copying, micro-copying, distribution and repair of office machinery.
As publisher for Parliament and the Government, HMSO produces a wide
range of printed matter in its eight printing works and through private printers
under contract. It operates six binding works, two of which are involved in the
repair of manuscripts from national archives. Official publications are sold by
government bookshops in London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Belfast, Bristol,
Cardiff and Birmingham, and through agents in Britain and overseas. HMSO
is also the United Kingdom agent for European Community publications, and
for those of the principal international organisations. The Controller is
Queen’s Printer of Acts of Parliament, and the copyright of all British Govern¬
ment documents is vested in him.
The Department of Trade is responsible, under a Secretary of State, for
commercial policy and relations with overseas countries. It promotes British
commercial interests overseas, negotiates trade and commercial matters, and
administers British protective tariffs. It sponsors the work of the British
Overseas Trade Board in export services and promotions, overseas finance and
planning. It is responsible for companies legislation, supervision of the insur¬
ance industry, the insolvency service and for patent, trade mark and copyright
matters. Other responsibilities include civil aviation, marine and shipping
policy, tourism, the hotel and travel industries, the newspaper, printing,
publishing and film industries, and the distributive and service trades. The
Secretary of State is assisted by two Parliamentary Under Secretaries of
State.
The Department of Transport is responsible for roads, transport policy, ports,
railways, freight movement, road and vehicle safety, and urban transport.
The Secretary of State for Transport is assisted by a Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State.
The Secretary of State for Wales, a Cabinet minister, has full responsibility
in Wales for ministerial functions relating to child care, health, housing, local
government, primary and secondary education, town and country planning,
new towns, water and sewerage, roads, forestry, tourism, national parks and
historic buildings, and shared responsibility for the administration of urban
grants to areas of acute social deprivation, and (with the Minister of Agriculture,
Fisheries and food) for agriculture in Wales. He has direct ministerial
responsibility in Wales for selective financial assistance to industry, as well as
a general responsibility for economic development. This aspect of the Secretary