Oral Answers to Questions — Education and Science – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 11 Rhagfyr 1973.
Mr Dick Douglas
, Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire
12:00,
11 Rhagfyr 1973
asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will make a statement on the recent relationships between her Department and the Scottish Business School.
Mrs Margaret Thatcher
Secretary of State for Education and Science, Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Science
There is no formal relationship between my Department and the Scottish Business School, but the three universities concerned in its programme of work are in touch with the University Grants Committee. The quinquennial settlement provides for 2,927 full-time and part-time students by 1976–77.
Mr Dick Douglas
, Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire
I thank the right hon. Lady for that reply. Will she confirm that at long last the Scottish Business School has got its administration sorted out and that we have one clear line of authority, after two or three wasted years?
Mrs Margaret Thatcher
Secretary of State for Education and Science, Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Science
I am delighted that the Scottish Business School is now off to a good start, and I hope that it will continue.
Mr Ronald Murray
, Edinburgh Leith
In view of the lack of formal relationships between the Minister's Department and the Scottish Education Department, is it not high time for a Royal Commission to investigate education in the United Kingdom as a whole?
Mrs Margaret Thatcher
Secretary of State for Education and Science, Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Science
No. It was not a formal relationship between my Department and the Scottish Business School. It comes under the University Grants Committee, which has given what I hope will be thought to be a good quinquennial settlement.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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.
