Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:32 am on 27 March 1991.
Mr Conal Gregory
, City of York
12:32,
27 March 1991
I am mindful of the hour, but I wish to congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Mr. Amess) on raising the most important subject of timeshare. I echo my hon. Friend's praise of the hard work of the European Parliament Member for York, Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott, who has taken the matter up and put it on the books in Europe.
I hope that the Minister will say to what extent there will be safeguards for the British public, particularly in respect of the people to whom they should address their complaints. Is it recommended that complaints should go to the trading standards officers? A great many complaints are being received, and it is important that confidence should be restored. We do not want to see further auctions—perhaps the saddest auctions of all, involving those who have to sell their timeshare rights.
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.
