Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Transport – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 11 Chwefror 1991.
John Prescott
Shadow Secretary of State, Member, Labour Party National Executive Committee, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
12:00,
11 Chwefror 1991
Is the Minister aware that only last week a report from his Department referred to a decline in reliability and punctuality and to carriages being dirtier and more overcrowded than they were last year? That is precisely what the Transport Users Consultative Committee has been saying, and it has linked the situation directly with the fact that the Government have reduced the public service obligation by hundreds of millions of pounds. When will the Minister recognise the connection, reverse that policy and give people in the south-east the chance of a decent railway system?
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.
