Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 11:55 pm ar 18 Rhagfyr 1991.
Alistair Darling
Shadow Spokesperson (Home Affairs)
11:55,
18 Rhagfyr 1991
I am glad that the Minister does not dispute what I have said about the social charter. On monetary union, the Prime Minister has made a virtue of saying that we will decide in 1996 or 1997 whether to opt in. That means that we will decide whether to opt in to something designed by others, because we have abdicated our responsibility to draw up the plans for EMU, should it come to that. It is perfectly clear from everything said to pacify the right hon. Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher) and others that Britain has no intention of being in at the start.
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.
