Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Transport – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 11 February 1991.
Malcolm Rifkind
The Secretary of State for Transport
12:00,
11 February 1991
I last discussed channel tunnel services from north of London with the chairman of British Rail on 5 December. My hon. Friend the Minister of State discussed the matter with senior officials of British Rail last week.
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.
