Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Transport – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 11 Chwefror 1991.
Joan Ruddock
, Lewisham, Deptford
12:00,
11 Chwefror 1991
The Minister tries to reassure the House about London Underground, but is he unaware that it plans to cut 980 jobs? Astonishingly, 66 of those posts are for engineers who work on lifts and escalators. Will the Minister acknowledge London Underground's financial crisis, which is leading to cuts in services on six tube lines, the destaffing of stations and the postponement of the Northern line's much-needed refurbishment? Is not it time that the Minister gave more grant aid to prevent a total collapse of London underground services?
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.
