Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 5 Rhagfyr 1973.
Mr Keith Speed
, Meriden
12:00,
5 Rhagfyr 1973
The right hon. Gentleman knows better than that. This is exactly the same situation as applied in the case of road schemes when he was Minister of Transport. There is an independent inspector, but at the end of the day someone has to take a decision and answer to Parliament.
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.
