Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Trade and Industry – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 December 1973.
Gavin Strang
, Edinburgh East
12:00,
10 December 1973
Does not the Minister accept that these decisions are far too important to be left to oil companies and construction firms? Does he not agree that there is an overwhelming case for commissioning an expert study of platform design to complement the one that has been commissioned on sites, so that we can come to a decision which will be in the national interest?
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.
