Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Environment – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 27 Mawrth 1991.
Mr Clive Soley
, Hammersmith
12:00,
27 Mawrth 1991
I do not think that the Minister intended to mislead the House, but the drop in interest rates will make no difference to most mortgage payers, as the Halifax building society itself pointed out recently.
Mortgage repossession is the fastest-growing cause of homelessness in families. Will the Minister join me in pursuing an option advanced by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, together with certain housing associations and local authorities—the development of a mortgage rescue package designed to stop the dream of home ownership from turning into the nightmare of bed-and-breakfast accommodation paid for by the poll tax payer?
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.
