Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 21 November 1973.
Mr David Steel
, Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire and Peeblesshire
12:00,
21 November 1973
Does the Minister accept the need to review this matter now? Is he aware that a headmaster told me of a visit he made last week to a class of 16-year-olds where he found 15 playing cards and dominoes and 14 out of the 15 had jobs to go to? At a time when we are short of teachers and industry is crying out for labour, is it sensible to keep young people on at school beyond their sixteenth birthday?
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.
