Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Transport – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 11 Chwefror 1991.
Jeremy Corbyn
, Islington North
12:00,
11 Chwefror 1991
Will the Minister explain why this arbitrary target has been introduced? Has not the time come to withdraw this ridiculous target and instead to give greater public support to the railway industry, particularly to investment in Network SouthEast, because lack of investment is leading to a reduction in maintenance costs, which has the knock-on effect of reducing the safety margins under which the railways operate? Does the Minister accept that he is responsible for the investment problems of the railways and therefore for the lack of maintenance that goes with it?
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.
