Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 21 December 1973.
Michael Meacher
, Oldham West
12:00,
21 December 1973
I acknowledge that aid has been given in this patchwork form to which the Minister has referred. But is he not missing the whole point of the strategy plan, which is to draw attention to certain target levels of achievement on an across-the-board basis which should be achieved within 10 years; and the level of expenditure should be geared to achieve the common standards of provision and services which prevail in other parts of the country?
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.
